Summer Delights
by Brinvixen
Summary: Kagome is being forced to go to summer camp. Well, there goes a valuable eight weeks of summer down the drain. Or at least, thats what she thought...but then she saw Inuyasha; one of the peer leaders. All of a sudden, this place had major possiblities.
1. Week One

**Back after extended absence. Truth be told, I've been itching to get a fic up for months, but I didn't feel like anything good was coming from my many dabbles. But this one actually seems to be working out so far, so I said I'd give it a shot. I hope you all enjoy.**

**Rated M for language, and possible future encounters...**

**Notes**

**Kagome isn't portrayed here like she is in the anime/manga. At least, I don't think she is. However, I'm also not trying to stereotype her as the "bad girl" type. She's just a new kind of Kagome. Also, I decided to keep Inuyasha's charming half-demon appearance, without the half-demon part. So (unfortunately), there will be no mention of the adorable puppy ears in this fic. But there will be much talk of the gleaming silver hair and beautiful amber eyes. You've been warned.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Inuyasha or any of its characters. Also, because I am unaware of how original this plot is (I'm thinking it might not be that much), I'm going to say that I claim no ownership over that either. The most I can say is that I tried my best to make this story my own. If you find similiarties as you're reading this with your own work, or work you've read before, realize that I had no intention of taking your ideas.**

**On with the show!**

* * *

**Week One**

Sixteen-year-old Kagome Higurashi had decided from the moment that her mother and stepfather said the words 'summer camp' that the whole thing was going to be a disaster. But she didn't know how bad she was in for, until she arrived at the damn place. The car was slowing down in front of three brightly colored buildings: pink, green and yellow. The pink was decorated with butterflies, the green with flowers, and the yellow with bumblebees. There were already a couple of parents standing in front of said buildings with their respective daughters. Kagome could imagine that she was wearing the same expression some of these girls were: severely annoyed.

"Turn the damn car around." Kagome hissed from the back seat.

"Who the hell are you speaking to like that?" Her stepfather, Naraku Onigumo, asked in a raised voice.

"Well since you were the first to reply, I'm talking to _you_ like that." Kagome snapped back. "Turn the damn car around!"

"Kagome, please." Her mother said wearily.

Kagome scoffed loudly in response to her mother, sitting back in the seat and folding her arms. The two of them were losing their damn mind if they thought she was going to stay here. She'd rather spend the eight weeks of summer with her grandfather like her younger brother, Souta, was doing.

Not that she was getting the option: she knew that much already. Mr. Onigumo – her stepfather – was in charge when it came to making these so-called 'family' decisions. It was he who decided Kagome needed to be sent off to camp. He believed it would…what was the lame excuse he had given her mother? "Build character". Yeah fucking right.

The car finally came to a stop. She didn't get out of the car, even as her parental units did. She only pulled her aviator sunglasses over her eyes and pouted further. _They must think that I'm going along with this fucking joke_, she thought bitterly.

There was a tap on her window, and she glanced up to see her mother peering down at her. Her expression was begging; pathetic. Kagome couldn't take it. Why couldn't this woman stand up for herself? She remembered when her mother was a leading lady: when she and her father used to run the household with equal power. Now she was the submissive wench to Mr. Naraku Onigumo – the nastiest rat ever to crawl out of the sewers and live among the humans.

"Kagome honey," her mother said pleadingly. Her voice was muffled due to the glass, but Kagome could hear her enough. "Come out honey and join the others. They're going to start the orientation soon."

Kagome didn't move, still staring forward. She could hear her mother's heavy sigh. Suddenly the other backseat door opened and Naraku stuck his head in. His smile was borderline sexual, but his eyes reflected sheer evil.

"Kagome honey, you're making your mother cry." He purred in a mockingly sweet tone.

"Don't call me 'honey' you nasty bastard." Kagome hissed. "All this shit is your fault."

He smiled again. "You're right, it is. And I can undo it all if you want. But you know what the terms are for that."

Kagome shuddered. "You can fuck that."

"How I'd like to."

His voice dropped to dangerous levels, and sent an uncomfortable shiver up her spine. She opened her car door and got out of the vehicle, not want to be in the same space as the slime anymore.

Her mother smiled with relief when Kagome's sneakers touched the gravel. She could sense her mother was about to come over and hug her, so she walked towards the crowd that was gathering in front of the pink house: she wasn't in the mood for affection.

Someone was already talking: an older girl with straight dark hair pulled into a high ponytail. She was dressed in a white tank top with a bumblebee on the front, a pair of jeans and white sneakers. Two other girls stood with her, dressed similarly except one wore a shirt with a flower on the front, and the other had a butterfly. "The girls here will all take part in the same offered activities at the camp. Basically, we as peer leaders want our girls to feel like sisters at the end of this experience." The girl glanced down at her clipboard. "Now I will call the names for the future Bumblebees. Parents, if you could say your final goodbyes…"

As the head girl began to read a list of girl names, parents began clamoring around their daughters. Some daughters reciprocated, some stood in place, and some were bantering on how they could get themselves out of this mess. Kagome could empathize with the later.

"Higurashi Kagome."

When Kagome heard her name, her anger surged. Not only was she being forced to this damn camp, but she was going to be a fucking _Bumblebee_?

"Higurashi Kagome?"

"That's you sweetheart." Her mother said, coming up behind her. Kagome turned around just in time to be sucked into a motherly hug. "I'm going to miss you so much while you're gone."

"You could just send me to Grandpa's house." Kagome choked out, before adding: "Mom let me go, you're suffocating me." Her mother released her and she continued. "It's not too late for us to drive back. If I was at Grandpa's house, you could visit me all the time."

"But we already came all the way out here. And we paid for the camp."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Mr. Onigumo is rolling in the dough. Whatever you dropped on this camp won't make a difference to his bank account. I could still leave."

Her mother sighed. "I wish you wouldn't call Naraku that."

Kagome scoffed, irritation rising. "I sure as hell hope you don't expect me to call that bastard 'Dad'. Cause my only dad _died_ years ago."

At that point, the bastard appeared with Kagome's duffel bag in tow. "Here you are my dear." He said handing it to her. Kagome snatched it from him, careful not to make any physical contact with him as she did. "I hope you have a wonderful time at camp Kagome."

She cut her eyes, but he couldn't see due to her shades. "I'm sure you'd like that."

"There are a lot of things I would like, my dear Kagome."

She scowled. "You are so fucking–"

"Kagome!" her mother exclaimed, outraged. "Watch your tongue."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Please don't step up and try to be my mom, _right now_." She said, waving her mother off. "You're a little late for that."

Her mother immediately looked deflated at Kagome's comment. Naraku placed his hands gently on her shoulders in a way Kagome could recognized – he had done that same to her once before. "See what I was saying Azuna? Being away from home will help her attitude simmer down. This is good for the family, I promise."

Kagome felt like punching the man. But at the same time, she never wanted to touch him again. Instead, she adjusted her duffel bag on her shoulder. "I'm getting out of here. Bye."

She turned around and stormed towards the yellow building before either adult could return her goodbyes. Not that she really wanted to hear anything from them. In every way, she was happy to get to be away from the two of them. She just didn't want to have to be a fucking _summer camp_. And especially not as a Bumblebee.

The yellow building on the inside was still yellow, and had more damn bumblebees painted on the walls. The doors were their normal brown however, thank god. She was standing in the hallway: three doors were on the right, and another three on the left. Directly in front of her was the final door that had the word "PEER LEADER" on the front. Underneath it was a tacked on sign with a name: Kikyo. Kagome could only assume that was bumblebee shirt girl.

She walked down the short hallway and checked the doors for her name. She realized soon enough that the middle doors were the bathroom. She found her name on the right hand side: the door closer to Kikyo's room. With her name were two others: Sango and Ayame. She hoped the girls wouldn't cause her too much strife.

Inside the room there was even more yellow. And more of the fucking _bumblebees._ Damn, now Kagome wanted a cigarette. But her mother had gone through her duffel bag right after Kagome was done packing it, and took out anything she deemed unworthy. Unfortunately, her cigarettes fell into that category – that and her condoms. Kagome wasn't even a serious smoker: there was just times when she needed to take the edge off. And as for the condoms: that would be a completely different conversation. Not that she could explain any of this to her suddenly idiotic mother. Not that she _cared_ to explain anything to that woman anymore anyway. She just let her mother lecture her for a couple minutes upon finding them, and let her walk away with them. There had to be someone or somewhere around this place where she could restock those specific items.

Kagome did a quick sweep of the room: a couple sets of drawers to put away clothes, a door that was labeled bathroom – so she didn't necessarily have to walk into the hallway to go take a piss – a single bed pushed against the wall by a window, and a bunk bed set. She claimed the single bed for herself: not wanting to bunk with anyone. The other girls would just have to get over it. Just as she was deciding whether she wanted to unpack her things into one of the available drawers or just live out of her duffel bag, another girl walked in.

She had dark brown hair, but had it pinned up and hidden under a red baseball cap. The only way she knew the hair color was due to the bangs framing her face. She had a pair of dark sunglasses as well, and was wearing a red tank top and black capris.

She glanced over at Kagome. "Ayame or Kagome?"

"Kagome." She replied accordingly. "I'm going to guess you're Sango."

The girl didn't answer. She looked up at the walls, then cursed. "I can't believe I'm seeing more of these fucking bumblebees."

Kagome smiled, already sensing she was going to like this girl. Sango turned back to Kagome and eyed her duffel bag sitting on top of the single bed. Kagome sat down on the bed, just in case she had to show that she was serious about keeping the single. Sango only shrugged, then walked over to the bunk, claiming the bottom.

"So why are you here?" she asked after a moment.

Kagome sighed. "Stepfather. My mother just agrees with everything he says. So here I am."

Sango nodded. "That's balls." Then she told her own story. "I told my parents I wanted to go to Florida with the rest of my swim team for summer training. Instead, they heard that I wanted to come to fucking middle of nowhere Connecticut and become a Bumblebee."

"That's rough."

"Yeah, but at least this place has a swimming pool, so I can get some form of training in."

Suddenly, then another girl – the final – came rushing into the room. Her red hair was pulled into one and her green eyes were wild.

"Please," she said in a loud whisper. "_Please_ tell me one of you has a cigarette."

Sango rooted through her knapsack and pulled out a box of Marlboros, then tossed it towards the redhead, who immediately pulled a single out of the pack and began fumbling with a lighter. _Oh yeah, I can definitely get used to these girls._

* * *

Turns out, Ayame – the redhead in desperate need to smoke – was being sent here for similar reasons like Kagome: her parents were just dropping her somewhere.

"I don't even play a goddamn sport." Ayame said between puffs, blowing her smoke out the window. "What the hell am I suppose to do here?"

Camp Tekawitha, or simply Tek, was a sports camp. The campus was set up in this fashion. Upon driving in, the first thing approached was the master house, which was Mr. Myoga's personal dormitory, but nothing fancy. Further off to the right were the girls' dorms. To the left of those was the gym, then the cafeteria, then the boys' dorms. Behind the cafeteria was the playing field, which housed any outdoor sports. To the left of the field, behind the gym, was the swimming pool, fenced off accordingly. On the farther end of the entire campus was forest, but several trails had been roped out for hikes. One of these trails led to the Outhouse, which was the place students had to spend the night if they caused too much trouble on campus.

From a bird's eye view, it would be Mr. Myoga's at the head and center, three dorm houses on the far right – aligned in a triangle – followed by the gym, the cafeteria, and another triangle of dorm houses. Pool and playing field behind the buildings and finally the forestry.

A daily basic schedule alternated between time in the camp's weight room for muscle training, hikes and trail-walking to build endurance, on top of various sport practices. Sango was going to specialize for swimming, which meant that on occasions, if she didn't want to participate in the scheduled sport, she could swim instead. But everyone had to do the muscle training, and everyone had to do the hikes and runs.

Kagome played some basketball, but not enough to be sentenced to sports camp. Tek was for people who were trying to be sportsmen and women in the future, or at least wanted to pursue the damn thing for college. Kagome wanted to be a writer for god's sake. This was some cruel and unusual punishment.

"You must play something." Sango said after blowing out a long stream of smoke. "The way your body looks?"

Ayame blushed. Kagome nodded in agreement. The blue polo dress that Ayame was wearing showed off her slim figure, svelte curves and lean legs. She shrugged in response. "I run in the mornings, but I'm not a _runner._ Not unless I'm trying to catch a man."

Sango and Kagome giggled at the comment. Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Instantly, the three of them put out their cigarettes on the floor, then swept the incriminating things underneath the bunk bed. The door opened just as Kagome had kicked hers as far back as possible.

Kikyo stood in the doorway, still wearing her Bumblebee shirt, but wearing a pair of denim shorts now with her sneakers. "Hey girls." She said pleasantly. "How goes the moving in?"

"All done." Sango said with a wide, but extremely fake smile.

"Lovely. Everyone will be gathering in the cafeteria for grand orientation in fifteen minutes. What the three of you can do in the meantime is change into these."

At the end of her sentence, she tossed three shirts into towards the girls. They were sitting on Kagome's distance, and in catching range. Once Kagome unfolded hers, she grimaced. It was a bright pink T-shirt with a – guess what? – _bumblebee_ on the front. On the back in large block letters was her first name.

She looked up at Kikyo's shirt – a form fitting wide strap tank top, then looked back down at hers – a less than figure flattering pink mess. Then she glanced over at her friends' own: Sango's was light blue and Ayame's was green – all extremely large. Bumblebees or no, Kikyo was getting the better deal. "Why don't we get shirts like yours?" she asked.

"Because you guys are the campers." Kikyo explained. "House peer leaders get white so that we can tell ourselves apart amongst the campers. You better learn to love those shirts too girls, because you're required to wear them at least once a week while you're here."

"This is bullshit." Ayame muttered.

"At least yours match your eyes." Sango said in response.

"You girls get changed quick and come down to the cafeteria. Don't make me have to come back here." She said that last part teasingly, but they could see the warning in her eyes. Just before she turned to go, she gave the girls strange look. "Do you smell that?"

Instantly, the girls assumed a role of innocence. "What?" Ayame asked.

"Smells like cigarette smoke." Kikyo said, looking pointedly at them.

Kagome shrugged: "I don't smell anything."

She gave them long and searching looks. "Uh huh." She paused. "Get changed and get going." Once she was gone from the door and it closed behind her, the three girls simultaneously said: "Hate that bitch already."

"What are we going to do about these things?" Ayame asked afterwards. "Yeah it matches my eyes, but it doesn't do much else."

Kagome smiled. "Relax guys, this is my specialty. When you have parents like mine, you learn to turn anything they try to degrade you with into a total upgrade. I just need a scissors and a little more than fifteen minutes. We need to learn to love these shirts? Well once I'm done with them, we will."

* * *

They were twenty minutes late, but it was obvious that the orientation hadn't started yet. Kagome was proud of the three masterpieces she had created. Her two friends were wearing sweet off-the-shoulder tops with cinched waists to show off their figures. Kagome made for herself a form-fitting spaghetti strap V-neck tank, only because her breasts were bigger and –what the hey? – she liked to show those bad girls off. Their names were somewhat marred in the back, but still legible, so no one could complain. And even if they did complain: Kagome was pretty sure they didn't have back up shirts with her name on it to provide.

Once they found some seats together near the back, Kagome noted that a couple other girls had done the same creative-destructive thing with their own T-shirts. Nothing as cute or drastic as their set, but definitely not the mess it was before. At least they would be under the radar that way.

Kagome scanned the room slowly, people-watching. Most of the people here were in great shape. Some of the girls were in too much of a great shape – they looked like body builders. But the upside to sports camp so far was that all the boys had impeccable body types. She could already see herself getting close with more than just one over these eight weeks.

Her first male target walked in from one of the doors on the opposite side of the room. He was clearly older, and definitely the most beautiful guy she had seen in her sixteen years of existence. He had to be a good few inches over six feet; a slender frame, hard with muscle. His hair was long and silver in color, natural bangs tumbling into a pair stunning amber eyes. Kagome stared at him, unashamed – he was too captivating to look away. The white T-shirt he wore accented his sun-browned complexion. And his legs went on for miles. Kagome had never been more instantly attracted to anyone, ever.

She followed him with her eyes, safe behind her sunglasses, until he joined the bunch of other people standing across from the campers. He said hello to a couple of them, then ended up standing next to a familiar female – Kikyo. Then something clicked inside Kagome. He was wearing a _white_ shirt – one that clung to him in all the right places. And he was standing with Kikyo and several others dressed in white tops. And he had a picture of a bear on the front of his shirt.

"Can we have everyone's attention?" the words came over a loudspeaker. "Hello all, you may recognize me from your interviews or the cover of your camp brochures. My name is Mr. Myoga, and I am head of Camp Tekawitha. We're taking this time out to introduce you to my fellow staff members, coaches, and house peer leaders."

Kagome watched as everyone standing on that side of the room said their names and their positions. She waited for the beautiful boy to speak. And when he finally did, his voice was deep but clear. "Inuyasha. House peer leader. Assistant basketball coach."

Inuyasha. _Great name_. Inuyasha.

"He's hot." Kagome whispered to the girls.

"Yeah he is." Ayame said.

"I could see myself getting down with that." Sango said with a nod.

Kagome could see herself getting down with that as well. Easily.

Maybe this place wouldn't be such a complete waste.

* * *

**For anyone who lives in Connecticuit:: in no shape or form am I trying to say that your home state sucks. I just need a state that was urban, but had it's (for lack of better word) "rural" areas. Much like New York has its city, and then has its upstate foresty counties. But I didn't want to use New York, it felt too....commonplace.**

**Comments AKA Reviews are always welcome.**

**Until my next update: keep the peace.**

**--Brin--**


	2. Week Two

**I decided to write this story so that every chapter is another week at the camp (I apologize if that's disorienting, but I wanted to give the heads up). So, if you do your math, you can expect at least eight chapters in this story (maybe I'll throw in an after camp epilogue, but I can't say for sure).**

**Anyway, I decided to give the second chapter now because it's hard to tell if you'll truly like something from just reading one chapter. But I'm still working on three right now, so I can't promise that right away.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, any of the characters, or anything that anyone finds familiar with this plot. All I did was take these elements and try to make them my own.**

* * *

**Week Two**

The camp only mixed boys with the girls when it came to meals, training and hikes. Occasionally the camp would schedules trips into the nearby town, or dances on campus, which would be coed, but that was about it. Everything else was strictly separated. If girls were having basketball, boys were somewhere else and vice-versa. That went for all sports, no matter what. Sango wasn't even allowed her exempt from other sports if boys were in the pool. Even the dorms were separated, location-wise: the boys' and girls' dorms were separated by the cafeteria and gymnasium. But the most annoying part of it all was that the coaches were same-sex as well, making it nearly impossible for Kagome to get close to Inuyasha. Her first two days had consisted of quick glances similar to that of the first time she'd seen him: sitting with the other peer leaders at lunch, walking his team to the gymnasium, coaching basketball. The closest encounter she had had with him so far was when he was talking to Kikyo – _bitch_ – and she was simply close enough to witness it. The two smiled with each other a lot; he had such an excellent smile – brilliantly white teeth, adorably long canines.

Finally she managed to find Inuyasha on his own, standing in the cafeteria, contemplating the vending machines. He was wearing his peer leader shirt, but his hair covered his name. His golden eyes were narrowed thoughtfully as they darted between the selections of chips and sodas.

"Hi." Kagome said brightly, once she was close enough.

He glanced down at her – _god_, he was _tall_ – and asked: "Shouldn't you be with you be with your group, Bumblebee?"

Kagome scowled over the 'Bumblebee' thing. "Why did they put my name on the back of the shirt if you were going to end up calling me Bumblebee?" She was really tired of the Bumblebee motif.

Inuyasha looked at her again, eyed her shirt carefully, then said: "After what you've done to your shirt, I don't blame people for calling you Bumblebee."

Kagome smiled, feeling flirtatious. "You don't like what I've done with my shirt?" she asked innocently, slightly lifting her already accented bust due to the cut. "I think it's cute."

He had gone back to deciding what to buy, but he gave her another look. Kagome noticed him lingering longer on her than he had the first two times, notably at her chest. She smiled; at least she was starting to really get his attention.

He turned back to the vending machine, stuck a dollar in the slot and bought bottled water. "Do you want something?" he asked.

"There's something I want." She replied suggestively. Then, feeling bold, she asked: "Do you wanna take a walk with me?"

He raised an eyebrow. "Sure if I'm walking you back to your peer leader."

She giggled. "No, just a regular walk. Are those things not allowed in this place? Does everything here have to be a hike?"

He frowned at her. "You expect me as a male peer leader to walk around with one of the female campers? Alone?"

"Why do they do this sex separation thing? Don't they know that the days of sexism are done?"

"It's not sexist, it's just cautious." Inuyasha explained. "It's a long camp, longer than most. Two months. They just don't want there to be inappropriate relationships between campers."

"But they haven't said anything about relationships between campers and peer leaders."

"Because they don't have to Bumblebee."

Kagome frowned. "My name is Kagome."

He smiled, which melted Kagome's frown away. "Kagome then. And you and I know that it doesn't have to be said that there can't be any inappropriate relationships between peer leaders and campers."

"I didn't say an _inappropriate _relationship. I just said a relationship. Friendship if you will. Are we not allowed to be friends?"

Inuyasha gave her a long look. Kagome tried her best to seem sincere. It clearly wasn't enough, because he went: "Let's go find Kikyo."

She frowned. "No, let's not. How come you and Kikyo can have a relationship but you and I can't?"

He looked perplexed at her comment. "Kikyo and I don't have a relationship."

She scoffed. "Oh please. I've seen her, the way she acts around you. She's crazy about you; she fawns for god's sake. It's actually pretty disgusting."

"How does that make her and I have a relationship? You're fawning; we don't have a relationship."

She blushed with embarrassment. "I'm not fawning. I'm asking you to take a walk with me."

"I'm sure Bumblebee."

"Kagome!" she yelled.

Inuyasha smiled again, which made her blush further. "I know. I just enjoy the frustration on your face."

Kagome smiled shyly. She was fishing for something else – coy or clever – to say, but then a shrill call rang out through the cafeteria. The two of them looked around to find Kikyo running down to them, face red with rage.

"Where have you been Kagome?" she bellowed. "You're supposed to be in the weight room, and I find you here, goofing off. Do you know what the penalty is for being where you're not supposed to be?"

Sure Kagome knew: it was drilled regularly per day into every camper's mind. The Outhouse was a broken down wooden cabin located in the forest. It wasn't in the best of shape. They only kept it restored enough that it still looked foreboding, but was livable for a night. The place soon became the place to send naughty campers for a night.

"I should report you to Mr. Myoga." Kikyo said warningly.

"Calm down Kikyo." Inuyasha said soothingly. "Kagome just got here, she asked me to buy her water."

And suddenly, the water bottle Inuyasha had just purchased for himself was in Kagome's palm. There was a moment when his fingers touched her skin, and she tingled at the meeting. His hand lingered a second longer than necessary, but Kagome didn't mind, enjoying the contact.

"Well she's been missing for over twenty minutes." Kikyo hissed. "It shouldn't take her that long to come here and buy a damn water."

Inuyasha looked at her surprisingly. Kagome looked down, not about to admit to having searched the entire campus for him while cutting class. It took Inuyasha only a second to recover though: "I questioned her a bit: what class was she in right now, what she was doing here. I didn't realize I had held her up so much. My fault."

Suddenly Kikyo smiled widely, resting her hand on his shoulder. "That's okay, nothing is your fault. This one is a little troublemaker. Did I tell you? I was pretty sure I smelt cigarette smoke in her room on the first day."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Are you done?"

More rage. "Who do you think you're talking to like that!"

"Kikyo." Inuyasha's somber voice took her down a notch. "Don't be like that. It's not that serious, I promise. Kagome was just leaving."

Kagome glanced up at Inuyasha, frowning. The last thing she wanted to do right now was leave with this miserable witch. But Inuyasha looked down at her with a hard expression, and she realized that defying him might put her in even more trouble. He was a peer leader after all.

Reluctantly, Kagome walked behind Kikyo, who was giving her a sermon on the appreciation of time and honesty and whatever else her dumb ass could come up with. Kagome held onto her bottled water, then realized almost instantly that this wasn't _truly_ her water. Kikyo was so caught up in herself, she wouldn't notice if Kagome ran back to the cafeteria to give Inuyasha back her water. But when she turned around, she could see Inuyasha coming out of the building already, holding a new bottle. They met eyes for a second – Inuyasha smiled, and Kagome could have sworn she saw him wink at her. She watched him as he walked towards the male dormitories.

"Kagome, let's go shall we. You still have thirty minutes of muscle training left."

Kagome followed Kikyo, but her mind was still on Inuyasha.

* * *

"He likes me." Kagome announced.

The three girls were on their way to the swimming pool, walking behind the rest of the group.

"Who like you?" Sango asked.

"Inuyasha."

Ayame snorted. "And where did you get that nonsense from?"

Kagome scowled at her. "It's not nonsense. It's true. He does."

Kagome briefly told them the story of her cutting weight classes earlier in the week – _no,_ she _hadn't_ just gone to the bathroom, as she had told them when she left – and how Inuyasha covered for her when Kikyo was ready to bring down the wave of hate.

"That doesn't mean he likes you." Sango said. "He was just trying to keep you out of trouble."

"And why would he try to keep me out of trouble if he didn't like me. I mean, what would be his motive?"

"I don't know." Sango said. "But don't get too wrapped up in this 'like' thing."

"First off, he was completely flirting with me. And then secondly, he winked at me while I was walking away. I saw the wink. Tell me if those aren't signs."

"Maybe they'd be signs if he was our age. But he's way older than us I'm sure. You have to be at least eighteen to be a peer leader, which puts at least a two year gap between you two."

"Yeah, but he can't be older than twenty-two, which closes the gap at six years. Which isn't so bad when you think about it.

"He's a peer leader here. You probably look like all the other campers here to him." Ayame pointed out.

"Excuse me, I do _not_ look like the other campers here." Kagome said, mildly insulted. The other girls here were babies, ages ranging between eleven and sixteen, with her being the only sixteen year old so far. Even Ayame and Sango were only fifteen years old, and Ayame had just recently turned fifteen.

"Relax Kagome, don't be so sensitive." Ayame said. "We're not trying to insult you. We're just telling you not to jump to conclusions."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "You just don't understand what it's like when a man flirts with you."

The two girls went quiet. "You didn't need to take it there, Kagome." Sango said after a while.

Kagome only sighed in response. She knew she felt something – if only for a second – between them. Whether it was when he placed the water bottle in her hand, his checking her out unashamedly, or the wink. He _winked_ at her for god's sake. Men don't just go around winking at people they aren't attracted to.

"Sorry guys," Kagome said, deciding to drop the subject with them. They just wouldn't get it. "I wasn't trying to be mean."

"It's alright." Sango replied, and Ayame nodded.

A group of boys were climbing out the pool and getting ready to hit the showers once their Bumblebee group arrived. The three girls checked out the opposite sex as they toweled down their athletic figures. Kagome wasn't going to lie – some of the boys were extremely hot. And this was the fifteen to sixteen group, with more of them being sixteen already. Then again, she had her eye on one guy in particular already.

The fifteen to sixteen group of boys were called the Bears, and were led by Inuyasha, so it came as no surprise to see him lounging in a pool chair while his group got themselves together. Kikyo ditched her own group almost immediately to rush to his side. Kagome felt like gagging.

"She's such a parasite." She muttered.

The girls looked over at Kikyo. "She may be a parasite, but they are closer in age." Ayame pointed out.

"I doubt he's even that into her. He made it a point to tell me they weren't in a relationship." _And why would he tell me that if he wasn't interested in me? _In the next second, Kagome had an idea. "Can I borrow a dollar?"

"Sure." Sango reached into her pocket and pulled out a crumpled one.

"Thanks." Kagome smiled. "You guys put my stuff down for me, I need to go do something."

Ayame and Sango exchanged looks. "Why do I get the feeling that this is Inuyasha-related?" Ayame pondered out loud.

"Because it probably is." Kagome said knowingly. She hadn't seen much of him since their encounter in the cafeteria, and she was about to make the most of right now.

She glanced over at him. Kikyo was still yapping off his ear, but he didn't seem that into whatever she was saying. He had shades over his eyes, so she couldn't tell where he was looking, but it was worth the chance to believe he had seen her. She turned her back to him and pulled off her top – a plain white tee, since her Bumblebee shirt was in the wash – then stepped out of her shorts. Her swimsuit was a one-piece – only because it was mandatory when it came to swim classes – but had a haltered top, but deeply enough in the front to make a point, and completely backless. Besides, she knew her figure was nice regardless of what swim gear she had on.

Kagome turned around and looked back in Inuyasha's direction. A small smile was playing on her lips, but she couldn't say for sure if it was because of her little performance. Kikyo was smiling too. The sunglasses were throwing her off. So instead of continuing to play the guessing game, she took a deep breath and walked over to his side of the pool, dollar in hand. Ayame and Sango looked at her with concern, but she brushed it off, adrenaline pushing her forward.

Kikyo frowned at her arrival. "Don't you have to get ready for swimming?" she asked snappishly.

"Clearly I'm ready for swimming." Kagome replied coolly, gesturing to her swimsuit. Then she turned to Inuyasha. "I owe you a dollar from last week. I've been meaning to pay you back from before, but I couldn't find you."

"Keep it." He said simply.

She shook her head, letting her dark hair float softly from side to side. "Just let me pay you back."

Inuyasha stood up, smiled at her. "Keep it Bumblebee. It's okay, I promise."

"What did I say about calling me Bumblebee?" Kagome said in a mildly annoyed tone.

He shrugged, his smiled becoming playful. "Guess I just can't shake it."

She smiled up at him, hypnotized by his. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Like how."

She made her voice sound sultry as she said: "As if you see something you like."

Kikyo stood up too, angrily. "You should be getting in the pool Kagome."

Kagome cut her eyes at Kikyo, but shrugged with content. "Fine." She pulled her hands through her hair to pin it up, which simultaneously lifted her breasts slightly. She watched for Inuyasha's reaction. His smile remained. "See you around Inuyasha."

Kagome turned away, walking slowly to emphasize her natural hip sway. This time she didn't need to look behind her to know Inuyasha was watching her; hiding behind the comfort of his shades. Without a doubt, he saw something in her that he liked.

* * *

Kagome was sitting with a bunch of boys for dinner that evening, namely because her two friends had found boys that piqued their own interest. Miroku was sixteen with dark hair and violet eyes – Sango's dreamboat – and Koga with long dark hair and sharp blue eyes – Ayame's sweetheart. A couple of guys at the table were talking her up, trying to see what could happen between them, and Kagome was mildly interested in some of the offers. But her main goal had become Inuyasha. He wasn't going to be as easy as the guys surrounding her were, and she liked challenges.

"Kagome."

The voice was hard and angry. Kagome looked up to see Kikyo lurking over her, brows knitted in irritation. "Can I talk to you for a second?" She was trying to sound polite, but Kagome could detect the deeper anger. "It's important."

"I'm listening."

"I need you to come with me."

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Fuck that."

Kikyo's face went red. "Are you purposely trying to push my buttons? Because it's working, and you're pushing yourself right into a night in the Outhouse. Now come with me."

Kagome sighed and stood up; only because she was far from interested in a night at the Outhouse. She walked behind Kikyo until the two of them were outside of the cafeteria, standing in the dark of the night.

"Just what the fuck are you trying to pull, Ms. Thing?"

Kagome was surprised at Kikyo's language. "You sure you're allowed to talk to a camper like that Ms. Peer Leader?"

"Don't try to twist things you little cunt. I don't know what you're up to, but don't you dare try to wreak any havoc around here. If you were a Butterfly or a Flower, I wouldn't give a shit about you. But you're in _my_ house, and therefore, you better start abiding by _my_ rules. So cut your crap and keep away from Inuyasha."

Finally: the true purpose of this meeting. "What about that last part?" Kagome asked innocently.

"Don't play coy with me. I can see your intentions all over you damn face. And I'm here to tell you that it's not going to happen like that. Not only would you damage his reputation, but you'd be damaging mine in the process. And neither he nor I want that."

"And who are you to speak on his behalf?"

Kagome was calling her out, daring her to use the word 'girlfriend'. She wouldn't let Kikyo live it down if she did.

But Kikyo didn't take the bait, just exhaled in frustration. "Just cut your shit out. That way we don't have any _more _problems between us."

"Didn't realize we had problems Kikyo." Kagome said sarcastically.

Kikyo just scoffed and walked away back to the cafeteria. Kagome lingered for a second, tempted to light one up. Sango had given her a couple of cigarettes to hold onto, and she had one in the back pocket of her jeans right now. But it was dinner time: the place was teeming with other campers and peer leaders, and maybe even Mr. Myoga. It would be a risk: too easy to get caught. But the temptation was still there.

She walked away from the cafeteria, and out to the playing field. Once she felt she had covered enough distance, she took out her lighter and stuck a cig in her mouth. She lit up and took a couple of calming drags, smiling to herself.

"I hope you're going to put that out soon."

Kagome almost jumped out of her skin at the sound of the male voice behind. The cigarette dropped out of her mouth and to the ground, wasted. She turned around to find Inuyasha standing there, eyes gleaming in the moonlight.

She scoffed. "You made me drop my cigarette."

"You're not supposed to be smoking the first place." He said, stepping on the lightened end to out it. Then he picked up the offending evidence and pocketed it. "Kikyo was right, you were smoking in your dorm."

Kagome shrugged. "I don't care. I want to get out of the god forsaken place. If that means getting in trouble, then I'll cause as much fucking trouble as possible."

Inuyasha shook his head. "That would be a shame. You're a great basketball player, and this place would help you hone your skills."

She glanced over at him. "You've seen me play?"

He nodded. "Only once or twice. In passing. But you have some talent."

Kagome saw opportunity and seized it. She stepped closer to him. "You know, you could give me some pointers." She reached out and slid a finger down Inuyasha's right arm. "You're the assistant basketball coach right?"

He stepped back. "For the _boys'_ team."

She rolled her eyes, but she didn't know if he saw. The moon was the only light on them, and it wasn't much. Inuyasha was nothing more than a silhouette at this point. But those eyes oh his were able to cut through all darkness.

"All that sex separation talk can walk Inuyasha. The girls' coach sucks."

"Kira is a talented basketball player."

"But she's not as good as you." Kagome stepped closer to him again, taking a bigger step so that she was a mere few centimeters away from him. She reached for his jeans, finding his belt loops and slipping her fingers through them. "I want you." She said firmly. Then added playfully: "to teach me basketball."

Inuyasha pulled himself from her grasp forcefully. "That's not funny Kagome."

"I was being serious."

"Well stop it." His voice had gotten hard with anger. "We better get back. People will start to wonder."

"Who cares?"

"I care Bumblebee."

"Kagome."

"Whatever."

She frowned at his dismissal of her advance. But she wasn't quick to give up. She reached for his hand, holding it with both of hers. "Inuyasha–"

Inuyasha snatched his hand back, so fast that he almost hit her face. "Move it Bumblebee: it's almost curfew. I'm not about to have my ass on the line because of some little girl." He was angry alright, that much she could tell. But his tone carried something else in it too: a hint. Like there were more to his words than the face value of them. He emphasized 'little girl' way too much.

Her frown deepened. She couldn't understand why he was being so difficult. They were out in the dark, with no one around. Perfect opportunity, and he was rejecting her. Her pride was hurting and she stomped passed Inuyasha, purposely knocking his shoulder. "I told you to stop calling me Bumblebee." She yelled over her shoulder.

"Wait a minute. Let me walk you back."

"I can walk my damn self!" She screamed at him. She didn't want him near her. She didn't want him to see her pain.

* * *

**Hope this will give a better grasp on the story. Realize that I put it under the drama category, so expect some more of this..."dramatic behavior"**

**If you liked it, review and let me know. If you didn't, at least tell me constructively (no flames). I want to thank my very first reviewer - gigglez30 - for: one, giving my first review; and two, prompting me to put up this second chapter.**

**Until my next update: keep the peace.**

**--Brin--**


	3. Week Three

**Not sure why, but I was inspired to change the title. Hope it doesn't through anyone off (like, with the story alerts or something. I'm not really sure how those work).**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Inuyasha, the characters, or anything else that people think may not be mine. I'm just taking these very common elements and shaping them into something uncommon**

* * *

**Week Three**

Kagome stayed away from Inuyasha for the next week, still affected by his harsh rejection. She knew what he was trying to tell her: he was not interested. Which was yet to make any real sense, since everything else about it said he was. Kagome knew for a fact she attracted older men. She may only be sixteen, but she had the body of someone older. And she certainly didn't carry herself around like a sixteen-year-old. So why was Inuyasha acting like he wasn't attracted to her? She could tell that he was; he was just being a dick.

She hooked up with one of the boys in Inuyasha's group; Bankotsu. Not to get back at Inuyasha, but because of sheer pent up frustration. Bankotsu was a fabulous kisser, and was even more fabulous with his fingers. If they had hooked up for a moment longer, Kagome was sure it was going to get pretty far between them. And even though her motives had had nothing to do with Inuyasha, she couldn't help but smile to herself at his expression when he caught the two of them in cafeteria after curfew. There was anger there of course – that was part of his job. But there was more than just that anger, there was jealousy. It was there only for a moment, but Kagome had caught the flicker in his eyes.

That had been two days ago. She still hadn't said anything to him, refusing to make another move after being shot down so heavily before. She had only seen him when their groups crossed on their ways to the respective activity. Inuyasha didn't make eye contact, but he made a point of keeping Bankotsu under his shoulder so that Kagome couldn't make eye contact with him either._ Cock-block,_ Kagome thought angrily.

It took Inuyasha to the weekend of her third week at camp to finally say something. She was enjoying the ever rare free slot – when campers had free time to do whatever they want. Sango and Ayame had gone into town on one of the camp's organized trips. Kagome asked them to buy her something good from town, and she'd pay them back. In the meantime, she was hoping to find Bankotsu and spend her free time occupied. But on her way towards the boys' dorms, she ran into Inuyasha.

It had been a while since she had seen him this close, and she had forgotten how good he looked. He was wearing a red marina* that clung to him attractively, and a pair of baggy grey sweats with white sneakers on his feet. His shoulders were so broad, and his arms were made purely of defined muscle. Even the brownness of his skin was a turn-on.

"Hey." He said quietly.

She narrowed her eyes, pretending to be upset. "Hey yourself." Her voice was curt. "Excuse me."

"Where are you going?"

She had already walked passed him when his question reached her, but she turned around to answer him. "To find Bankotsu."

He frowned profusely. "What do you want with that guy?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?" She snapped back.

His frown deepened for a moment, then subsided completely. An easy smile came to take it's place. "Well, I was hoping that you'd go for a run with me."

Kagome's eyes widened. This had caught her by surprise. She kept her guard up. "Yeah right. You just expected to find me right at this spot and ask me to go for a walk with you?"

"A run." He corrected. "And I was on my way to your dorm to ask your peer leader for permission."

Kagome was still wary; unbelieving. "Why do you want to go for a run all of a sudden?"

He shrugged. "We're not allowed to go into the forest by ourselves. Gotta run with at least one other person. Most of my guys that were around weren't interested; I wasn't going to ask the younger campers – can't keep up you know; Kikyo wouldn't run with me."

"Kikyo would do anything you asked her to." Inuyasha laughed at that. "So I'm just your resort, is that it?" Kagome asked him.

"Don't think of it that way Bumblebee. Just come run with me."

She frowned. "Stop calling me that. Damn."

He only laughed again. "Are you going to come with me or not?"

Kagome gave him a long look, trying to see if he was joking around. He looked pretty serious; eyes unwavering. She was dressed for a run: wearing her camp shirt and a pair of mid-thigh black spandex shorts, running sneakers on her feet.

Finally she smiled. "Fine, I'll come with you. But no funny stuff."

"That goes double for you." He said, before taking off in a dash towards the trees.

Kagome had to speed to catch up with him at first, but once she was next to him, they fell in stride. His steps were longer, so he maintained some distance in front of her, but she stayed close to his heels. They ended up taking a hill trail, but it didn't tire her out. Kagome stayed in pretty good shape while she was home, working out three times a week. This camp only built her endurance. She even managed to get passed him as they climbed the hill, knowing already where this trail ended.

This was her favorite trail, only because the view at the top was so beautiful. She could see the town from here, and the large expanse of lush greens, dotted with colorful flowers. She leaned against a rock to catch her breath, taking in the scenery.

Inuyasha came up next to her not long after. "Took you long enough." Kagome joked. "I've been here for _eons._"

"I'm sure." Inuyasha said with a grin. He leaned against the rock next to her, folding his arms.

She glanced up at him just as he looked down at her. The electricity in his eyes made her blush and look away. But when she looked back up, he was still watching her. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

He smiled. "Because you look good." He said simply. "Your skin is getting very golden brown from all the sun."

She nudged him playfully. "You don't look so bad yourself." She paused, looked up at him with a serious expression. "Then again, you always looked good to me."

He didn't say anything to that, which prompted Kagome to say: "I guess that feeling isn't reciprocated."

"What do you mean?"

"You look good to me, but I don't look good to you."

"I _just said_ you looked good."

"I said you _always _looked good to me."

He looked at her for a long time, and Kagome watched as his eyes went up and down her body. She smiled to herself at the picture he had to be getting: curves of her breasts peeking out of the shirt, soft hourglass figure, exposed legs. But then he shrugged, saying nothing. Kagome frowned. She was certain she had been so close to a confession. Then again, the eyes said it all, and it was obvious that he liked what he was seeing a lot more than to just describe as 'good'. "So what was your _real_ reason for taking me up here?" she asked him finally.

He looked down at her, sighed through his nose, then took on a concerned expression. "I wanted to talk to you about Bankotsu."

She rolled her eyes. "And what about Bankotsu?"

"You know you aren't allowed to have that kind of relationship here."

"And?"

"And what I saw–"

"What you saw was none of your business." She said firmly. "What were you doing wandering around campus that late at night away? It was like two in the morning."

"Peer leaders don't have a curfew. I had just come from town with a couple of other leaders."

"Oh the unfairness."

"You don't want to mess with that guy anyway."

She folded her arms. "And when ever not, Mr. Know-It-All?"

Inuyasha ignored her insult. "Because, he's not serious about you. That's the third time I've caught him in the cafeteria after hours with another girl. And it was two different girls the first two times."

"So? I'm not serious about him. We're just having fun."

He looked down at her. "Just trust me on this one."

She gave him a long look, then smiled flirtatiously. "Alright, I get it. You're jealous. You don't have to be you know. I only hooked up with Bankotsu because I was bored that night. You're still my number one."

Inuyasha stiffened. "Kagome, please. You're taking this the wrong way."

She placed her hand on his chest, gently turning him to look at her. "I think I've got a pretty good grasp on what's going on here."

"No you don't." He said forcefully, pushing her away. "Didn't we promise no funny stuff? God, what's with you?"

She scoffed and folded her arms. "Well excuse me for trying to get the natural thing going that happens when two people are attracted to each other."

"I'm not attracted to you. What are you like, fourteen, fifteen?"

Kagome frowned. "_Sixteen._"She said firmly. "And I'll be seventeen in September. What are you, eighteen, nineteen?"

"_Twenty_." He stated in the same tone she had used to state her own age.

"I bet you just turned twenty." Kagome said. He hesitated. _Got you. _"And what does my age have to do with my attractiveness anyway?"

"Your attractiveness holds no water. You're a camper here. I'm a peer leader. What you're insinuating can't happen."

"It's not like we have to tell anyone. I can keep a secret."

"You're a girl with girlfriends: you don't know the meaning of secrecy."

Kagome frowned. "Well if you don't like me as much as you claim to, and you're not attracted to me and you're so sure that _nothing_ is happening between us, why don't you back the fuck off?"

"Excuse me?"

"You heard me. _Back the fuck off. _If I want to hook up with Bankotsu, that's my business. Don't lead me out here and tell me that you think I'm making a mistake because he's not 'serious'. And stop sending mixed signals. Cause right now you're saying all this crap, but two seconds ago you were absorbing my body with your eyes like a fucking sponge. Not to mention, when we were on the field last week–"

"Last week I told you to get a grip." He said, interrupting her.

She narrowed her eyes at him. "You know what? I don't have time for any of this. Really. I don't know why I agreed to come out here with you, when I could have Bankotsu's tongue in my mouth right now." She turned away from him, about to head back down the hill, but then she turned back. He was glaring at her, but she didn't care. "And as for your little thing about not being allowed to have 'that kind of relationship' in the camp, you and I know that there are other boys in your group having those kinds of relationships with girls in mine. So don't try to single me out as the bad guy. Just leave me the _fuck _alone."

With that, Kagome turned away and started down the hill, but it didn't take long for her to hear footsteps coming down behind her. A hand grasped her upper arm and whipped her around. Inuyasha's angry expression was bearing down at her. "Just what the hell are you trying to pull here? Are you trying to get in trouble?"

"Right now, I'm trying to get away from you." Kagome said, trying to shake his hold on her.

He only held on tighter. "You have no idea what kind of trouble you'd be in if someone else caught you that night." He stopped for a second. And when he spoke again, he said the words slowly: "You have no idea what kind of trouble you'd be in if anyone knew you were having a relationship with someone here."

Kagome paused, letting the gravity of what he said sink in. "I don't care." She told him, looking him straight in the eye. "I just want to have fun here. I want to enjoy it to the fullest. I don't let a couple of rules stop me."

"The people you're breaking rules with would get in serious trouble as well."

"Well then I'm not interested in those kinds of people. I'm only going to get involved with people who are willing to take the risk. People who know that I'm worth the risk."

The hidden meaning behind their conversation was overpowering. Kagome held Inuyasha's gaze without flinching, letting him see just how serious she was about her words. He looked at her carefully, for a long time, before releasing her suddenly. It was unexpected, and Kagome staggered back, but caught her balance on her own.

"It's not worth the risk." He said curtly, not looking at her. "It's never worth the risk."

His words hurt more than Kagome thought they would. "Fuck you." She hissed.

He started walking away from her, leaving her on the trail by herself. Kagome watched him leave, waited until she was sure he wouldn't be on the path anymore, before starting her own descent.

Fuck Inuyasha. Fuck him for toying with her like this. One minute it seems like he might be interested, and the next minute, he's grows a set of morals. It wasn't only the fact that he was rejecting her, but it was the _way_ he was doing it. He was acting as if she wasn't much more than a doormat to him – someone he could step on.

When frustrated tears started to form in the corner of her eyes, she blinked them away. Crying wasn't worth it. She had cried enough when her father died. She had cried enough when Naraku came into her life. She was tired of crying over men.

By the time she made it back to her dorm, Ayame and Sango had already come back, bags in tow.

"You know there's a dance tonight?" Ayame said.

"Now I do."

"And we bought some stuff to spice up the punch." Sango said, pulling a bottle of vodka out of one of the bags.

She smiled, feeling better already.

* * *

The dance was down by the pool. It was the first time the peer leaders – including Kikyo – were letting loose and relaxing with the other campers. Some people were swimming, while others stood along the sides, rocking to the beat of the music pulsing from the speakers. Sango, Ayame and Kagome were already prepared drink-wise: instead of spiking the punch, they prepared their own concoctions and poured them into opaque water bottles. Every time they took a sip from their bottles, they met eyes and smiled with each other. And of course, as to not appear selfish, they let in a couple of the other more mature crowd in on their secret, so others were sporting bottles much like they were.

Kagome loved to dance, so it didn't take her long to loosen up and start getting down by the pool's edge. She swayed her hips to the hypnotic rhythm of the Enrique Iglesias song "Push". At first, she was dancing by herself – not that she cared – but soon, everyone on land joined in. Soon she felt a presence behind her – Bankotsu. She molded her body with his, winding her hips sensually to the music.

"I love the way you move." He whispered in her ear. "I'd love to see some of that action in private."

Kagome giggled to herself, extremely turned on. But just as she was about to reply, her eyes landed on Inuyasha. He was standing on the other side of the pool with Kikyo. She was talking to him about something, trying to get his attention, but his eyes were locked on her. _This is exactly what I fucking mean: he says he doesn't want me, but he keeps watching me like this._

She took a long sip from her alcohol bottle, then gave him a defiant look. He wanted to watch her? Well she'd put on a show.

She bent over and arched her back, grinding seductively on Bankotsu's groin. Immediately his hands found her waist, guiding her closer to him. Inuyasha's eyes widened, but that was it. Kagome only dipped lower, making her motions sexier, but keep it off of slutty. She wasn't even paying attention to the song playing, just keeping her rotations in time with the rhythm, and keeping her eyes on Inuyasha. He never took his eyes off her.

…Not until Kikyo looked over at what was holding his attention like that. Kagome caught her staring – _glaring – _before dragging Inuyasha away from the pool area.

Once he left, Kagome lost her graceful. She was still dancing, and Bankotsu had his hands all over her body, but she her heart wasn't in it anymore. "Excuse me Bankotsu." She said, pulling herself away from him. "I need to go to the bathroom."

"Wait a second." He pulled her close to him. "Do you want to do something tonight? Maybe meet back here later?"

She gave him a half-smile. "I'll text you."

He smiled back. "Alright."

Kagome freed herself from his hold, then walked out of the pool area. She hoped Bankotsu wasn't still watching her, because he'd wonder why she didn't just use the bathrooms within the pool area. Of course the reason was, she wasn't looking for the bathroom.

She was looking for Inuyasha.

He and Kikyo must have gone far, because they were nowhere in sight. Then again, it was a huge campus: lots of space to cover. She didn't even know where to start looking. But looking she did, walking back to the girls' dorm and working her way around from there. She was searching the darkness for over twenty minutes, until she came upon the boys' dorms and heard the whispers. Angry whispers.

"You need to cut this shit out before you get yourself in trouble Inuyasha."

Bingo: found. Kagome sighed with relief. She was about to round the corner completely to make sure, but she decided to simply poke her head around instead. Kikyo and Inuyasha were standing behind the Bear building. She was glaring at him, while he wasn't looking at her.

"You don't know what you're talking about Kikyo." He said quietly.

"Of course I don't." she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. "As if it isn't all over you face that you were watching _her_."

"I wasn't watching anyone."

"You were watching her and you _know _it. And you better stop Inuyasha. She's a camper, a child for god's sake."

Kagome's eyes widened. They were talking about _her_, they had to be.

"You think I don't know that Kikyo?"

"Oh I think you know it Inuyasha, I just think you're starting not to care anymore. I see the way you look at her Inuyasha. I've been watching you while you're watching her. You're checking her out. You're sizing her up. You're _interested._"

Kagome was tickled pink. She _wasn't_ crazy: if Kikyo thought that Inuyasha was interested, and admitted it out loud, then it had to be real.

"I would even say you're attracted to the bitch, though I couldn't begin to understand why."

Inuyasha didn't say anything at first, then grinned. "Well, she has an awesome rack."

Kagome almost squealed with delight. Instead, she bit down on her bottom lip to keep from revealing her pleasure.

Kikyo frowned. "That's disgusting."

"I was joking Kikyo."

"Sure you were." Kikyo said, taking the words straight from Kagome's mind. "Look, you better cut it out, before you get sucked in. That girl knows you think she's hot, and she just playing you to her advantage. But she's a fucking slut: you caught her with Bankotsu. And I've seen her flirting more than excessively with another boy in your group, Hojo. And who knows how far she's probably gone with him. She's not worth the risk at all_._"

Kagome frowned: Kikyo was such a hater. But she heard Inuyasha sigh. "Yeah, I know."

The words crushed her. Kikyo narrowed her eyes. "Make sure you know. Young girls are never worth it. So you better let your little infatuation go."

Kagome turned away from the scene. She had heard enough.

* * *

***Marina - the same thing as a 'wife-beater', only I hate calling them that. I was taught marina, hence "marina" is in the story.**

**I'm in the process of chapters four and five, but for now:: I hope you enjoyed this (despite the excessive drama. It's kind of comical to me though). If you did, a review would be more than appreciated.**

**Until my next update: keep the peace**

**--Brin--**


	4. Week Three: Minichapter

**Okay, here's how this minichapter works:: I had wanted this to be a part of the last chapter, but thought that would make the chapter too long. Then I thought about cutting the scene altogether, but then I thought that that wasn't the best solution either. So I decided to make it stand alone as a minichap. I might make more of these minichapters in the future, which means you might get more than eight chapters (thats good right?)**

**There's a racy scene in here also: you've been warned.**

**My disclaimer from before holds true here as well**

* * *

**Week Three: A Special Night**

Kagome snuck out of her window at around four in the morning. She wasn't able to sleep, not after hearing Kikyo and Inuyasha's conversation earlier that night. Even after having some more of the vodka – all of what was left of it – she still found herself awake and thinking. Somehow, it hurt even more to know that Inuyasha was into her and that he just refusing to go there. And for what reason? To him, she simply wasn't worth it.

She checked the time - ten to four in the morning - before climbing out of her bedroom window. She was wearing a tank top, short shorts, no bra. She had grabbed a zip up hoodie on the way out to beat the night chill, but she walked barefooted. She walked to the gym, then passed it. She walked to the cafeteria, then passed it. She kept her head down, making sure she didn't step in or on anything offending, until she made it to the Bear House. She peeked into the first window, and saw boys sleeping soundly. Thought she recognized Bankotsu with a hand down his pants. She hadn't caled him: wasn't inspired to. She left that window and walked around to the back window. Looking into that one, and saw Inuyasha sleeping soundly.

Not caring who would hear her, she banged loudly on the glass.

Inuyasha must have been a light sleeper, because he sat up in bed and turned on his lamp almost instantly. It took him a couple of seconds to recognize Kagome standing outside. He got up out of his bed and went to the window, lifting the glass.

"Are you crazy?" he hissed, sounding angry.

"Let me in." she said softly.

"You can't be serious right now Kagome."

She smiled. "You called me Kagome. I love that. I love the way you say my name. I wish you'd call me 'Kagome' more."

He sniffed the air, leaned closer to her and sniffed again. "Shit. Have you been drinking?"

Kagome rolled her eyes. "I assure you, it's not even that serious. I'm not drunk. You think I would have made it all the way over here if I was drunk?" She took a deep breath, then exhaled. "Let me in Inuyasha. It's cold out here."

He stepped aside, but Kagome could sense the reluctance in his movements. She shrugged it off, lifting herself on the sill and climbing into the room. She took in the surroundings – it looked a lot like her own dorm room, but bigger, since there was only one bed and one set of drawers. She walked over to the bed, climbing on top of it before lying down on her stomach. The smell of Inuyasha filled her nose at the first intake of breath: aftershave, deodorant, mixed with natural body scents. She took another deep breath, then turned over on her back. Inuyasha was watching her in stupor. He looked marvelous, wearing nothing but pajama pants. Kagome could see every line of definition that made up his sculpted abdomen and deep sex lines*. She smiled at him.

"Come lie down with me." She said.

"And you say you're not drunk." He said in response. "You came all the way over here without shoes."

She let out a low whine. "Come lie down with me." She repeated.

"You need to leave. You know how much trouble we'll both be in if you get caught in here?"

"Who's going to catch me Inuyasha? Everyone is asleep." Kagome smiled at him. "No one will know I'm here unless you tell them."

"How'd you get over here anyway?"

"I climbed out of my window and walked." She put on a pout. "Are you really not going to come over here and lie down? I didn't mean to wake you up. I thought you'd be awake."

Inuyasha glanced at the clock, then frowned at her. "At four a.m.?"

Kagome shrugged. "The point is I'm sorry. So come back over here and go to sleep."

He gave her a lingering look, but then shook his head. "No." he said firmly. "You need to get up. You need to get out of here."

"You're going to let me walk all the way back to my dorm in the dark?"

"You came over here in the dark."

"I came over with intentions of staying. I don't know if I'll make it back okay."

"Then I'll walk you back."

Kagome sat up. "Inuyasha. Stop being difficult and come over here. Look, I'm not lying down anymore. Just come and sit with me."

Inuyasha still looked hesitant. Kagome sighed in frustration and moved to the edge of the bed, so that her legs were hanging over the edge. "Is this better? Will you stop acting like a big baby _now_?"

"Look Bumblebee, maybe you don't understand the gravity of this situation–"

Kagome closed her eyes. "Please don't call me Bumblebee anymore." She exhaled slowly, then looked up at him. "I don't call you Bear Leader do I? I call you Inuyasha. Won't you please call me Kagome?"

Inuyasha sighed. "Kagome."

She smiled at the sound of her name in his deep masculine voice. "Thank you."

"Kagome, we have to go." He said firmly. "_Now_, before someone realizes you're gone."

Kagome gave him an irritated look, then sighed. Slowly, she slipped pulled the zipper down on her hoodie and slipped it off her shoulders, dropping it on the floor next to her. Then she reached for the hem of her shirt, and began lifting it up slowly. She was just about to pull it over her breasts when suddenly she felt hands on hers, yanking them down, re-covering her body.

"What the hell are you doing?" He asked her harshly.

She smiled slyly at him. "Getting you to come to me."

Sure enough, Inuyasha was now sitting on the edge of the bed next to her, hands over hers and holding the shirt down. Once he realized how close he was to her, he released her, and back off some.

"You know, I wasn't serious when I said I wanted you to leave me alone." Kagome whispered. "That time on the trail. I was just mad, because I couldn't understand. I couldn't understand why you were resisting the way you feel about me."

"I don't feel anything for you."

Kagome sighed. "Kinda like how you're acting now. It made me angry." She reached for his hand and rested them both in his lap. "I just couldn't understand, is all."

"There's nothing to understand."

"You like me Inuyasha."

"No. I don't."

"Yes you do." She leaned closer, whispered in his ear. "I heard you talking to Kikyo tonight."

He turned his head to face her, expression bewildered. "How'd you–?"

"I followed you guys. Well, I had to find you two first. But once I did, I stayed hidden and listened to your conversation. You're attracted to me Inuyasha. I know it. Kikyo knows it. You know it. So why–?"

"You're a camper here Kagome. I'm a peer leader. You're sixteen. I'm twenty."

She shrugged. "I'm a girl. You're a boy. I'm turning seventeen in September. You just turned twenty in…" Her voice trailed off, and she looked to him for the answer.

He sighed. "May."

"Exactly." She shifted closer to him, so that their legs were touching. "You don't have to like me Inuyasha. You don't even have to love me. But you want me; and that's enough for me. So how come me wanting you isn't enough either?"

He pulled his hand away from hers. "I have to take you back to your room."

"Answer my question."

He looked at her, his amber eyes intense. "Why do you sell yourself so short? You're such an amazing girl: free-spirited, in love with life. But here you are offering yourself up to a man four years older than you whose rejected you more than once. A man who doesn't even love you."

She shrugged. "Maybe it's because I'm free-spirited and so I'm in love with life that causes me to act this way. I just want to go with my intuition, do what my mind and body tells me to do, go to what my mind and body pulls me to. And right now, I'm being pulled to you. And the only reason I'm still being pulled to you is because there's something on your end that keeps a hold of me." She paused. "It's the way you look at me Inuyasha. There's so much emotion in your eyes. It feels more than you just being attracted to me. You like me. I can tell that you like me."

He looked down for a moment, then met her gaze again. "I do like you Kagome. I like your feistiness, your quick wit, your attitude. I like the way you're always smiling when you're with your friends. I like the way you look at _me. _I even like your persistence, though it can take a toll on my nerves at times."

Kagome felt a weight being lifted off her shoulders. Finally, a confession – more confirmation that she wasn't going crazy.

But Inuyasha was going to start backpedalling, she could tell. "But I can't like you." He said finally. "And I certainly can't be attracted to you. You're too young for me, and the situation we're in right now just makes everything worse. It makes no sense to like you."

"Then don't like me." Kagome said. "I don't care about that part Inuyasha. The only part I care about is that every time I see you, I feel this urge to be close to you. I just want you to be close to me Inuyasha. I want you to touch me like you want me. I want you to _want me_ just as much as I want you."

Inuyasha looked torn, so Kagome gave him some incentive. She placed her hand on his cheek, turning his head to face her. He didn't move away from her touch. She leaned towards him, her eyes lowered to his mouth.

"Kagome."

Inuyasha's voice came out haggard, broke through her trance, when she was only millimeters away from his lips. She titled her head slightly, pressed her lips against the corner of his mouth. His skin was warm. She moved her lips down to his jawline, up to his cheek, on his earlobe. Suddenly she felt Inuyasha's hand grip her wrist, moving her hand away from his face. She came back to his eye level. His eyes were burning with intensity, but she didn't look away.

"Kagome." He said slowly, voice thickened.

"Yes Inuyasha?" her voice had changed too: low and seductive.

He didn't say anything at first, just looked at her. Suddenly, the gap between them was closing. Inuyasha was leaning towards her. The closer he got, the more her body yearned for him. He stopped once his forehead touched hers, their lips only seconds away from connecting.

"Kagome." He said again.

"Yes?"

He spoke in a low whisper, his tone laced with desire. "I want you."

And in the next instant, their lips touched. Not softly, but with a passion: mouths opened automatically and tongues brushing for the first time with a fever. Kagome heard a moan leave her throat, and get caught in their kiss. Inuyasha pulled her closer to him at the sound, his hands grabbing her shoulders.

She ripped herself away from him. "Say it again." She demanded in a voice full of lust. "Tell me you want me."

"I want you." He growled in a tone that matched hers.

He pounced on her again, lips meeting more fiercely than before. They fell back on his bed, and immediately Inuyasha climbed over her. Her arms went around his neck, just as his kiss dipped down to crook of her neck. She bit her bottom lip in an attempt to keep silent as his tongue danced across her flesh.

"Inuyasha." She said in a breath.

Inuyasha lifted his head at the sound of his name, and she pulled him back down for another searing kiss. Kagome felt like she was on fire. His hands were starting to trace her body: down the curves of her sides, down her legs, then up her inner thighs.

"Touch me Inuyasha." She begged.

"Where? Where do you want me to touch you?"

She guided his hand right against the flesh between her thighs. "Here, touch me here."

He grabbed her shorts and pulled them off her. Then, slipping passed her underwear, Kagome felt him slip a finger inside her. One, then two, moving in and out of her rapidly. She squirmed, grabbed the bed sheets, fought of the moans and gasps ready to erupt out of her.

"You're so fucking hot." Inuyasha told her.

"I want you inside me." She said, unable to stand the heat anymore.

"How much further do you want me to go?"

"All the way." She said. "I want you to fuck me."

He growled appreciatively. "Kagome."

"Do it now."

He was breathing heavy, his fingers still moving in and out of her. She continued to twist and shiver under his touch. "Please Inuyasha." She whispered. "I want to feel all of you inside me."

"Kagome."

"_Please Inuyasha._"

* * *

***Sex lines - the lines at the joint between the leg and torso that accent (more in men in my opinion) the nether region. I call them sex lines, I'm not sure what other people call them.**

**Hope you enjoyed: review for me please!**

**--Brin--**


	5. Week Four

**Another chapter for all. Quick message to my reviewers:: I truly do appreciate the kind words that you've left me (and though I usually reply to my reviewers individually, time is not always on my side to do this). Thank you very much to those who have left me reviews. At first I thought this story was a complete waste and that the people reading it didn't quite like it. But you have changed my mind, and now I'm much more excited to write this fic.**

**Disclaimer: Inuyasha, the characters, the part of the plot that doesnt seem originial; all are not mine. I'm simply taking these common elements and combining them into something uncommon.**

* * *

**Week Four**

When Kagome opened her eyes, she realized she had overslept. She could hear the sounds of the morning or afternoon activities – she wasn't sure which, since she wasn't sure what time it was – going on outside. There was a dull pounding going in her head, keeping her from sitting up. She glanced at the clock: the bright red numbers "10:27" blaring back at her at her. It seemed like it was only four hours ago that she crawled back in her window after visiting Inuyasha's room.

Then again, now that she thought about it, it had been four hours ago.

Kagome sighed to herself, a smile crossing her face. Two wonderfully hot hours spent with Inuyasha in his bed: kissing, touching, rubbing. They didn't sleep together, even though Kagome had really wanted to, and could feel his hardness pressed against her skin as an indicator that he wanted to as well. But it didn't happen; Inuyasha convinced her that she couldn't stay the night and they ended up staggering together - drunk from their lustful hours - to her dorm. He held her hand tightly as they walked, and helped her through the window. He tucked her hair behind her ears and softly pressed his lips to her forehead.

"You're something else Kagome." He said.

Kagome sighed again at the memory. She realized that last night, she had lied: it mattered a hell of a lot if Inuyasha liked her. She wanted him to like her.

There was a knock on her door, and she turned her head just in time to see it open. Sango came in: "Kagome? You up?"

Kagome stretched in her bed. "Yeah." Her voice sounded hoarse.

"How are you feeling?"

"I'm okay." Kagome said, a bit puzzled. "Why didn't you guys wake me up?"

"Kikyo got a call this morning from Inuyasha, saying that you weren't feeling well last night and that you needed the time to sleep. I just wanted to check on you and see if you were feeling better."

Kagome tried to hide her surprise. Inuyasha covered for her? Then she tried to eliminate her surprise: it wasn't like this was the first time he had done that. "I'm feeling better." She said.

And she was. The dull pounding was getting duller, almost insignificant – she hadn't had that much to drink last night in addition to her high tolerance for alcohol. Plus, hearing that Inuyasha had been the reason why she got a few extra hours of sleep was enough to put her in an even better mood.

Sango came closer to her bed, stooping down in front of Kagome. "Did you sneak out again last night?"

Kagome raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"I thought I heard someone coming in really late through the window this morning. I asked Ayame if she had gone out to meet Koga tonight, but she said no. And _I _didn't go. So I was wondering if it had been you."

Kagome smiled, ready to share her adventures from last night. But just as she about to speak, Inuyasha's words rang through her head: _you're a girl with girlfriends: you don't know the meaning of secrecy_. She paused, then said: "I went out to meet Bankotsu again. Things got pretty hot, so we lost track of time. Didn't realize I had come in so late."

It was a lie, but it was worth it: neither of the girls spoke to Bankotsu enough to want to question him on the validity of the story, and she was proving to Inuyasha that she could keep a secret. She smiled to herself, proud.

Sango shook her head, but she was smiling. "You and Bankotsu yet again huh. You must be over Inuyasha."

Kagome shrugged. "I'm getting there." Another lie. It was actually becoming the complete opposite.

"Alright, I'll let you go back to sleep." Sango said. "We're supposed to wake you up in time for lunch, but I just wanted to make sure you were okay. You were dead this morning, and with the drinking and now I hear about Bankotsu, Ayame and I were just concerned."

Kagome smiled. "Nice to know my girls are looking out for me."

Sango smiled again, before getting up and leaving the room. The door closed, and Kagome let out a soft moan. Now her mind was on Inuyasha, her body getting hot. A growing fire was coming to life between her legs, and she had to take deep breaths to calm herself down. Inuyasha had made her feel unlike any other last night, and they hadn't even slept together yet. She felt herself being pulled to him; needing him. She pulled the comforter over her head and let out another groan.

Due to the story Inuyasha had given Kikyo, Kagome couldn't get out of bed for another hour and a half. But she couldn't wait to be out of the bed and back on campus, so she could see Inuyasha again.

By the time twelve o' clock came around, Kagome was already up and dressed: wearing a pair of black Bermuda shorts* and a light pink tank top. Everyone was already in the cafeteria, enjoying the lunch hour. Kagome grabbed a sandwich, keeping her eyes open for Inuyasha. She hadn't seen him yet, but she knew he had to be in here somewhere. She joined her friends' table, but didn't pay much attention to the conversation at hand, her main motive being to find Inuyasha.

But he didn't show up for lunch. And when she went to her afternoon classes, she didn't get any glimpses of him. He wasn't around for dinner either. By the time curfew came around, Kagome hadn't seen Inuyasha – not a wisp of silver hair – at all.

She lay in bed that night, befuddled. It was entirely possible to have missed Inuyasha during the activity periods, because of the camp's strict ways of keeping the boys separate from the girls. But the guy had to eat, and she hadn't even seen a glimpse of him during the eating hours. She grabbed her hoodie and shoes this time to make the trek to Inuyasha's room. But when she came up to the window, she found his bed unmade but empty. She wondered if he was in the bathroom, and waited for a while to see if he would return. When it was clear he wasn't going to, she walked solemnly back to her room, feeling as empty as Inuyasha's bed had been.

The same thing happened for the next two days. Kagome felt like she was going through drug withdrawal and Inuyasha was her drug. There was no way for her to not have seen him like this unless he was avoiding her. And the only reason he would be avoiding her like _this_ could only be because he was regretting that night.

Bankotsu was trying to get another hook up going between the two of them, but Kagome wasn't interested. After being with Inuyasha, being with someone else felt like it would be a downgrade. She just wanted to be with Inuyasha...

If only she could find him!

* * *

When she did finally come across Inuyasha, it was a familiar scene. She was cutting class – figuring this could be the only way to find him – and he was standing in front of the vending machines, contemplating. She took a minute to take him: the broad expanse of his shoulders, the exposed arm muscles from his sleeveless shirt. Then she took the next minute to get mad, stomping over him and shoving him forcefully on his shoulder.

"Ow!" He grumbled angrily. "What the f–" He turned to see Kagome standing there, arms folding. The irritation that was building on his face dispersed immediately. "Kagome." he said quietly.

She folded her arms. "Surprised to see me?"

"Don't you have a class you should be in right now?"

"Where have you been? You've been missing for two nights now. I went to your room to look for you, but you weren't there."

"Yeah." He sighed and ran a hand over his silver mane. "I went to the Outhouse."

Kagome was confused: peer leaders don't get sent to the Outhouse. "Why'd you go there?" Inuyasha didn't say anything, which made Kagome think the worst. "Did you go to avoid me? Did you go so you could be away from me, is that it?"

He sighed again. "Look, I went there to do something thinking. I needed to concentrate, and I wouldn't have been able to if you ended up pulling that wild stunt you did that night again. I couldn't risk it."

"So you were avoiding me."

"In a sense, yes I was."

The words hurt more than she thought they would, but she kept her expression from showing that. "So you kiss me and touch me and then you run from me? I was a one-night stand basically: your slut for the fucking night. Is that what you're trying to tell me?"

Inuyasha narrowed his eyes at her. "First of all, you came on to me, pissing drunk–"

"I was not drunk."

"–talking about how 'it doesn't matter if you like me or not, I just want you to touch me' or some hoo-ha like that. You sold yourself off to me as a slut."

"Oh, so you took _advantage _of me then." Kagome nodded. "Thanks for clearing that up, Inuyasha."

"No, I didn't take advantage of you." Inuyasha seethed.

"So what did happen that night Inuyasha? Clearly we have more than one version of the story here."

He looked away from her, eyes lowered. "What happened that night was a mistake. I shouldn't have done any of the things I did. I should have just made you leave."

Another wave of hurt. "So you regret it." She stated softly. She didn't need to ask what she already knew.

"Yes." He said. "I regret it. It shouldn't have happened."

_No tears. Do not cry Kagome. _"Well it _did _happen." She said in a voice stronger than how she felt. "You know it happened, and I know it happened. So what happens now?"

He looked at her, his golden eyes sorrowful. "I apologize." He said. "I shouldn't have violated you like that. I don't know what I was thinking. I disrespected you that night: gave into my own fantasies without really keeping you in mind."

"I disagree: I think you fulfilled a couple of my fantasies as well."

"Kagome. Could you be serious for a second?"

"I _am _being serious." Kagome stepped closer to him, her expression sincere. "Nothing happened that night that I didn't want to happen. I wanted more to happen."

"You were drunk."

"No I _wasn't_, okay." Kagome said forcefully. "And even if I was, a drunk person's actions is a sober person's thoughts. Which means I still wanted all of that to happen. You don't have to feel guilty or apologetic for something that was consensual."

"You're sixteen."

"And you're nineteen plus." Kagome said. "I don't care." She paused for a moment, taking his hands in hers. "Remember what I said that night, about not caring if you like me or not. Well, I lied. I want you to like me. Because I like you. You're the only guy I've actually really liked. Boys are boys to me, but you're Inuyasha. You're charming, and kind, and you look out for me. And even though this respect thing can get annoying when I just want to be next to you, I like that you respect me. No other male has had respect for me like you do."

"Have to respect yourself before others respect you."

Kagome looked down, and exhaled slowly. "Well, I don't respect myself, and I know that. But–" She looked back up at him again. "You make me want to Inuyasha. You make me want to be someone that you'll like."

"I do like you. It's just that–"

"No more 'it's just that'. It's just _nothing_." She closed her eyes hard, feeling the tears coming back. "Why can't us liking each other be enough? Why does there have to be something else?"

There was silence for a moment, then Kagome felt her hands being dropped. She didn't open her eyes, afraid to see. "Because it's not worth it." Inuyasha said coldly. "It's not enough, and it won't ever be enough. And it may seem like a lot for a little girl like you to understand but–"

Kagome took off, unable to listen to the rest. Her heart was pounding in her ears, her breaths becoming short, but she didn't stop running. She didn't even look back to see if Inuyasha was chasing after her. She knew that he wasn't.

When she made it to the bathroom, she locked herself in a stall and sat on the closed toilet seat. Her heart was beating painfully, Inuyasha's words still resounding in her eyes. _It's not worth it. _She wasn't worth it. Affection wasn't enough. Attraction was enough. _It won't ever be enough._

Kagome wanted a drink. She wanted a cigarette. But most importantly, she wanted what she hadn't done over a man in years: she wanted to cry. And before she could stop herself, the tears came rolling down her cheeks. So she buried her face in her palm and allowed them to continue to fall.

* * *

She ended up back in her bed, comforter over her head, pretending that she had taken ill again. It worked; considering when she found Kikyo her eyes were red and puffy and her face had paled significantly. She didn't say anything to her friends except that she didn't want to be woken up for dinner, so they should just let her sleep.

Every time Kagome told herself to stop crying, she started crying all over again. _What a fucking mess,_ she thought. On a normal circumstance, if someone wasn't interested in what she had to offer, she would just move on and let them go - they clearly weren't worth it if they couldn't see the good thing she was. But with Inuyasha, it was a combination of things: it was the _way _he was rejecting, the fact that he was clearly interested in her but was _still _rejecting, that against her will Kagome came to develop something – feelings? – for him, and so that every time he _did_ reject her, it tore her in two.

All of that on top of the fact that she could still remember his fingers on her skin, moving in and out her body. She remembered the way his tongue felt on her neck, on her collarbone. None of those factors made the situation any better.

Eventually Kagome fell into dreamless slumber, and when she awoke, it was dark out. It was almost curfew, nearing ten o' clock. She sat up in her bed and found her room was still empty. But the bathroom noises let her know that everyone was inside.

Kagome got out of her bed completely and stretched. Then, without giving much thought to where she was going, she pulled on her sneakers and hoodie and climbed out of the window.

At first she wandered aimlessly about, but her growing hunger began pulling her to the cafeteria. Not that it mattered: she hadn't picked up her wallet so she wouldn't be able to get anything from the vending machines. When she stood in front of the large locked doors of the cafeteria, she sighed. _What now?_

"Looking for a midnight snack?"

The voice was friendly, but it made her blood freeze over. "Leave me alone."

"I'm on check in duty tonight, making rounds, and you're out of bed. It's my job–"

"I don't want to hear another damn thing about your fucking job." Kagome snapped, turning to face Inuyasha.

"So you're not going to go back to your dorm?"

She glared at him. How un-fucking-believable. After basically crushing her for – what felt like – the hundredth time since she'd been here, here he was acting as if the two of them had a functional relationship. As if nothing – physical or otherwise – had happened between them. Despite her conflicting urges to punch out his teeth and pull him into a passionate embrace, she responded in a curt tone: "No. I'm not going back to my dorm."

"I'm going to have to report you if you don't."

"Report me then. I don't give a flying fuck."

Inuyasha sighed. "Kagome–"

"Report me!" She screamed at him. "Don't 'Kagome' me. Don't fucking speak to me. Since your _job _is so damn important to you, just do your fucking job and report me!"

"What's going on here?"

It was Mr. Myoga, walking up slowly to the cafeteria. He gave Kagome a suspicious look. "Young lady, you do know that it's after ten, don't you?"

"I don't fucking care anymore." Kagome muttered.

Myoga looked surprised. "Oh you don't? Well I'm suppose you won't care if I send you to the Outhouse tonight will you?"

"No Mr. Myoga, I still won't give a shit."

He nodded, then looked to Inuyasha. "Mr. Takashi, would you please escort this young lady to the Outhouse?"

Inuyasha looked reluctant. "Mr. Myoga, sir, I was just about to take her back to her dorm."

"Well she doesn't seem to 'give a shit' either way Mr. Takashi. So…if you will."

Mr. Myoga walked away, heading back to his home. Kagome looked at Inuyasha in surprise. "Takashi as in Takashi Technologies?"

Inuyasha sighed. "Come on, let's go."

"Wait a second, don't I get to grab a bag or something?"

"No. You just go. Now come on."

Inuyasha walked off angrily, muttering to himself. Kagome had to jog to catch up with him, but made sure to keep a good distance behind him – not in the mood to be by his side.

Once they reached the Outhouse, Kagome had to admit, it looked intimidating in the dark. Inuyasha stood by as she went up to the front door, opening it with a loud creak. It was pitch black inside, and she could find no light switch on the walls.

"Are you happy now?" Inuyasha asked her. "Are you getting everything you want?"

She glared at him. "Don't you have somewhere to be?" her voice was laced with attitude.

He glared back. "You are so fucking frustrating."

She had turned away from him, but snapped back around at his words. "_I'm_ frustrating? One minute you're all over me and the next you're acting like I don't exist. _You _are the one, good sir, acting like you're on your fucking period."

"You don't understand–"

"And you can shut the fuck up with that 'I don't understand' shit. If I hear you say that again Inuyasha, I swear to God, I'll slap the shit out of you."

He raised his eyebrows in surprise, then narrowed them in a challenge. "You. Don't. Under. Stand."

Kagome exhaled heavily with frustration: _no he is not trying to fucking test me._ She stared him down, anger building. He didn't look away even once. Finally, she exploded: stomping over to him and raising her hand, fully prepared to smack him across his face.

But mid slap, he grabbed her wrist forcefully, bringing her action to a halt. She frowned, trying to pull her hand back, but he only gripped it tighter. In one strong pull from Inuyasha, Kagome found herself tumbling forward into him. His arm went around her waist to steady her, simultaneously bringing her closer to him.

At first, there was just silence. Kagome was sure she had stopped breathing. Inuyasha's face was so close, she could count his eyelashes, see the different shades of honey and gold that made up those incredible eyes. And suddenly, he was kissing her. Softly, he pressed his lips to hers, those lovely eyes of his closing at the contact. Kagome was too surprised to close hers.

"Inuyasha." She whispered when he pulled back. She looked up at him. "Why…do you keep doing this?"

He lowered his gaze, then lifted it back up to meet her eyes, the gold hue of his gaze smoldering her. "Because I lied." His voice was soft, but firm. "You are worth it."

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***Bermuda shorts - shorts that stop mid-thigh; I don't know if they're actually called Bermuda shorts, but that's what I call them.**

**Another chapter complete. A message to those reading this story (reviewers aside of course): I would great appreciate it if you'd tell me what you think of it, as opposed to just reading it. Though this is not a story based on reviews (AKA I'm not waiting for a certain number of reviews before I post a new chapter, or something like that) I still would like to hear what my readers think. Even if you want to critisize and tell me that...my grammar is bad, or the storyline is melodramatic (idk). So long as you do it without unnecessary flame, the comment is welcome here.**

**To those already reviewing: Thanks again.**

**Till my next update.**

**--Brin--**


	6. Week Four: Minichapter

**Another minichapter! Slight difference from the last one: this minichapter is a direct continuation from the last thing read in the previous chapter. Again, it was going to be a part of the previous chapter, but that would make the chapter too long (and I'm trying to go for evenness in my chappies).**

**Also (and I promise I'm not doing this on purpose, it's just working out that way) this minichap has a racy scene...AKA a lemon. you all have been warned.**

**Just a question: who decided that "lemon" is an appropriate word for physically intimate scenes? I'm not knocking the usage, it just comes as a surprise to me now that i think about it.**

**Previous disclaimer holds truth here as well**

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Kagome gasped, the gravity of his words surprising her. _I lied, _he had said. _You are worth it._ It was quite possible one of the most meaningful, wonderful things she had ever heard. _You are worth it._

With the parting of her lips for her quick intake of breath, Inuyasha plunged, covering her lips with his. Kagome found herself feeling the familiar brush of Inuyasha's tongue on hers. The hand he held in midair dropped, and both of them grasped each other tightly, kissing each other with a passion. Inuyasha's hands dropped down to her lower waist, down to her thighs, until he could lift her. Automatically, her legs locked around his slim waist.

Their kiss didn't break for a second, even as Inuyasha haphazardly guided them into the Outhouse. He had been here before, and his footing was sure. Without Kagome expecting it, their kiss ended and she felt herself tumbling onto a soft mattress.

"Light." Inuyasha said gruffly. "Where the fuck is the lamp?"

Her body trembled, missing his. "Fuck the light." She growled. "Come back here."

"Not a chance beautiful." His voice dipped to a tone of sensuality. "I want to see all that you have to offer."

Kagome's heartbeat picked up just a little more at his statement. And he called her beautiful. As Inuyasha cursed to himself and searched for a lamp, Kagome started pulling off her clothes, wanting to look as beautiful as possible when that light came on. The shirt went over her head and shorts off of her ankles in an instant. She managed to kick off her shoes just before a dim light came on across the room. Inuyasha looked at her, drinking her in with his eyes, a smile of admiration appearing on his face. Kagome lay there in a crimson bra and matching lace panties, white socks still on her feet.

He raised an eyebrow. "You look like you planned all of this."

She smiled at him. "_All_ my underwear is like this. I just embrace my sexy twenty-four seven."

He walked over to her, pulling off his shirt as he did. Kagome sighed with adoration at the sight of his body: that defined chest never got old. "Are you going to share some of your sexy with me?" he asked her as he got back on the bed, climbing over her.

She opened her legs to accommodate him between them. "You can have as much of me as you can handle."

He kissed her again just as fiercely as before, hands already slipping underneath to work the hooks of her bra. Kagome gasped at the feel of the separation. Inuyasha leaned up enough to pull the bra off her shoulder and she lifted her arms slightly so he could remove it completely. He dipped back down towards her, his mouth meeting the skin of her collarbone. Kagome closed her eyes, fully absorbing the feel of Inuyasha's tongue on her body. His lips traveled down to her breasts, tongue tracing figure eights around the two of them. A blissful sigh left her throat when his mouth covered her left nipple. His pull on her flesh was rough enough to excite her, but gentle enough not to hurt. She licked her lips, her breathing getting heavy. Inuyasha switched back and forth between her mounds, pleasing them equally.

"Oh god, Inuyasha." She said in a moan.

He kissed a trail, slowly and sweetly to her belly button, his hands on her underwear. He pulled them down the further he went down her stomach, until he had to lift himself in order to pull the garment off completely. Now Kagome lay exposed on the bed. But she wasn't embarrassed. Quite the opposite: she felt liberated, powerful, confident. She could see his erection pressing against his pants, imagined what it would be like inside her.

"Take those off." She said in a soft commanding tone.

He obliged, sitting on the edge of the bed for a moment in order to pull them off completely. He pulled his boxers down with them. Now Inuyasha was exposed. To Kagome, he looked marvelous.

She heard the wonderful sound of tearing: reminding her that this was real, and not some overly graphic erotic dream. Inuyasha was here with her. The moment she had been waiting for since she saw him was finally about to happen. Her body began quivering with anticipation.

He climbed back over her, and she welcomed him back between her legs. He kissed her, softly this time, caressed her cheek with his hand as he did. Then he looked her in the eyes. "You're something else Kagome." He whispered hoarsely.

"I've never wanted anything as much as I want this Inuyasha." She murmured.

"The feeling's mutual. I promise."

Inuyasha started slow: easing into her opening. Kagome hissed at the entry, surprised by his girth. But it was a hiss of pleasure: Inuyasha seemed to be filling every inch of her. He eased all the way out, then came back in at the same pace. Then he stayed inside, moving back and forth at a moderate pace. Her back arched, and she grabbed fistfuls of sheet, eyes closed tight. He felt wonderful, pressing against all her pleasure points with every thrust. Her first orgasm came as a surprise – she never came that quickly – but she couldn't deny the rattling up her spine and the heavy trembles that shook through her when it did. Already she felt like she needed to catch her breath. Inuyasha didn't slow, neither did he speed up. His pace was simple, but his strokes were effective – dipping deep into her body.

"Inuyasha." She moaned erotically.

"You love it." He declared in a low growl.

"I do." She opened her eyes for a second, managing to catch his gaze. "Tell me you love it too."

A primal, sexy groan left his throat. "I love it. You feel so hot."

She left go of the sheets, held onto his shoulders and dug her nails into his skin. Another primal sound left his body at the contact. "Don't go easy on me." She said breathlessly. Even though she was already cruising in pleasure heaven, she felt like he was holding back. "Do it like you want me."

"You know I want you."

Another orgasm was creeping up on her: her bottom lip trembled as she spoke: "Faster." She said in a breath, her voice gone temporarily. "Faster Inuyasha."

Immediately she felt his thrusting pick up pace, until he was moving out of her with amazing fluidity. Her breasts bounced every time he rocked into her. Her bottom lip wouldn't stop trembling: her mouth was open as his name poured out repeatedly in soft moans. Inuyasha responded well to his name. He put his hands on her shoulders and pressed her into the mattress, rocking into her body faster than before.

A horrible memory clouded her mind, and against her will she yelled: "Stop."

Inuyasha halted on command. "What is it?" He sounded concerned, even though his voice was thick with desire.

"Don't…" she put her hands on his wrists. "Don't hold me like this."

He gave her a long look, and Kagome his from his gaze, turning her head. Inuyasha lifted his hands, placed them on the mattress instead. Soft kisses fluttered across the side of her face she left open to him. "I'm sorry." He murmured in her ear. "I didn't mean to hurt you. I would never want to hurt you."

She looked back at him, and the concern and worry in combination with the kindness on his face made her feel silly. "You didn't hurt me." She whispered.

"Do you want to stop?"

She shook her head fiercely. "Never that."

He pressed his lips on her softly, kissing her delicately. She put her arms around him, arched her body towards him, physically communicating to him that she was alright. Soon, she felt his thrusts again: slow and careful at first, but soon: he was pumping into her at the same feverish pace as before. His beautiful body began to glisten with sweat. Kagome could feel water breaking out along her forehead and all over her skin. She leaned forward and pressed her mouth to his cheek, sensually licking the bead of sweat sliding down his cheek. He growled at her touch, pulled into her fiercely hot kiss. She moaned in his mouth, feeling herself ready to come again.

"You're driving me crazy." She cried out with passion.

He shushed her, but smiled. "You're driving me crazy. You have no idea how good you feel, how tight you are."

The words made Kagome feel daring: she put pressure on his shoulders, signaling him that she wanted him to lie down now. He complied and held her close, rolling her over so that he was on his back. She sat up straight, rotated her hips slowly, grinding on him. His eyes rolled back as she did, and now he was biting his lip. She rotated faster, then began moving up and down at the same speed. Inuyasha's hands found her waist, gripped her tightly, guided her up and down with a fervor, groaning as he did.

"Jesus Kagome." He groaned loudly.

She playfully shushed him, just as he had done to her, keeping her movements going. Inuyasha's hands covered her whole body: travelling up her stomach, gripping her breasts, moving back down to her waist. Kagome was unable to control her own hands as they clawed and scratched away at his hard stomach. She came down harder and faster on him, her body shaking violently with multiple orgasms every time. Inuyasha sat up in the bed and pulled her down on him repeatedly even harder, his eyes burning with passion when they met hers.

The bed was squeaking noisily under them, but it seemed irrelevant. The only thing that mattered was this joining of their bodies. Kagome felt like she was on fire, and Inuyasha was stroking the flame with his own heat. Her fingers began clawing at his back, digging into the hard muscle. She dipped her tongue into his mouth, kissed him fiercely, bit his bottom lip. She couldn't stop shaking, couldn't control herself; she felt so good. It was a struggle to keep from calling out to the heavens above.

And then she began to feel it coming - no pun intended. Inuyasha gasped every time she slammed down on him. She could feel him swelling inside her, further filling her walls. She held him closer, tighter, wanting to be there with him when he climaxed.

Suddenly, Inuyasha's head went back and a low and satisfied roar left him, and he pulled her down on him and held her there tightly. The rubber sheath between them kept her from feeling his hot seed, but she could still feel the quivers of his climax reverberating in her body, mingling with her own.

For a moment, their heavy breathing was the only sound in the room. Kagome's head dropped to her chest in exhaustion, her eyes closed. She tried to regulate her breathing, but it felt of no use. She was still trembling with the aftermath of it all.

Inuyasha caught his breath first, but all he said was "Wow."

_Hell fucking yeah, _Kagome thought, still unable to speak. Undoubtedly, she had just had the best sex of her life. No boy had ever paid so much attention to her orgasm before their own. No boy had ever made her climax so quickly, and never more than once, much less repeatedly. For the first time, Kagome just wanted to smoke a cigarette and pass out in Inuyasha's arms.

Suddenly, she felt a hand under her chin, lifting her head. Inuyasha's eyes were still intense, but different that before. Now they looked kind: it made Kagome smile. "You okay Bumblebee?"

A fast and singular laugh left her throat at the sound of the nickname. "Really Inuyasha? Bumblebee?"

He smiled back at her. "Couldn't help it. Maybe you'll always be my Bumblebee."

She felt herself getting warm all over again with his words. Suddenly being a Bumblebee didn't seem like such a bad thing, if it meant being _Inuyasha's _Bumblebee.

Inuyasha lay back on the bed, lifted Kagome off him gently and she lay down next to him, curling up to his body. His arm went around her, and he took one of his hands in his. That made her smile too.

"You okay?" he asked her softly.

"I'm wonderful." Kagome said assertively. Saying the words like that took even more out of her, since she was already so spent, but it was worth the extra effort. "I feel incredible."

He sighed contentedly, his eyes closing. "Well at least it's both of us."

She could feel him stroking the top of her hand with his thumb. She closed her eyes as well and sighed in a way similar to Inuyasha's. She felt so light: every single frustration that had been following her like a dark cloud over the past four weeks disappeared instantly. Now all she had on her mind was the wonderful boy lying next to her and stroking her hand.

Suddenly, a loud guttural grumble filled the room. Inuyasha stopped stroking her hand and sat up to look at Kagome, who was now trying to bury her face in the nearby pillow. "Was that you?" he asked her incredulously.

She glanced up at him, and chuckled without humor. "I…uh…I didn't eat dinner tonight."

He gave her a long look, but then started chuckling for real. "You _really_ are something else Kagome."

She smiled at the openness on his face. He seemed so less guarded, less frustrated – happier – now. She smiled brighter knowing that the change had partly, if not all, to do with her.

"You want me to get you something from the vending machines?" he asked her. "I'll come right back."

Horror crossed her face and she jumped up in the bed. "Don't leave." She said quickly. "Please. If you leave, this might all turn out to be a dream or something. I don't want this to be a dream."

He smiled at her, softly touched the side of her face. "It's not a dream. And I'll come right back."

"I'll make it till morning, I promise. Just…" She leaned forward and put her arms around him, resting her head on his chest. "Please don't leave."

It took him a while to reciprocate the hug, but when he did, he squeezed her tightly, holding her closer to him. "I won't leave."

"Stay the whole night." She murmured in his chest.

"I promise I will." He said. He pulled her back enough so she could see the seriousness in his eyes. "I'll stay the whole night."

Kagome smiled at his sincerity. He kissed her forehead and smiled back before getting out of the bed to turn off the light. She got under the covers and made herself comfortable, sleep already coming on fast.

She heard the other side of the bed creak under weight, then felt Inuyasha under the sheets as well. "You better not leave while I'm sleeping." She said warningly.

"I said I wouldn't."

"You _promised_ you wouldn't. That's a higher degree up than 'said'."

A soft chuckle, then: "You're right. I did promise."

"Exactly."

"Go to sleep Kagome. I'll be here when you wake up."

She had to be certain, so she shifted closer to him so that she could rest her head on his shoulder. _Now you can't go anywhere without me knowing,_ she thought triumphantly. Inuyasha chuckled again, as if he had heard her thoughts, but welcomed her touch, putting his arm around her again.

"Goodnight Bumblebee."

"Stop calling me that." She said, pretending to sound annoyed. But she was smiling from ear to ear, her feelings on the nickname begin to change rapidly.

"Fine. Goodnight _Ka-go-may_."

"Night Inuyasha."

It didn't take long for her to drop asleep; second time that day. This time, however, she had blissful dreams of the boy laying next to her.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed this. Reviewing would be highly appreciated.**

**Working on chapters five and six now, so I can't promise another update soon. But don't give up on me: because I will have them posted (I'm the kind of writer that likes to complete her stories, just so you know)**

**Until my next update**

**--Brin--**


	7. Week Five

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I would like to extend a big hand to those who reviewed my last couple of chapters:: they were very well received on my end (AKA they made me smile very much, and also made me think about what my story is to my readers). I'm glad that you all are enjoying this so far, and I'm glad that those who find themselves frustratingly enjoying this fic haven't given up on it yet (you know who you are).**

**Disclaimer: The usual things aren't mine, I just borrowed them in order to create this fic.**

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**Week Five**

Kagome awoke the next morning to a soft touch on her bare arm. Her eyes fluttered open and Inuyasha came into her vision. She smiled at the sight of him, which made him smile in return. "Morning," she murmured softly.

"Good morning." He replied. "Sorry to wake you, but you've got to get moving if you want to catch breakfast."

"What time is it?"

"Seven forty-five."

Kagome stretched her body long, and the sheet fell away from her, revealing her sections of her nude body. How quickly she had forgotten that she was naked. and there was Inuyasha: sitting on the edge of the bed, already fully clothed. Her face went red as she suddenly felt shy, grabbing the sheet to shield herself. Inuyasha chuckled.

"It's not like I've already seen you." He whispered.

"I know." She murmured. "But it's the principle of the thing."

He chuckled again. "Whatever you say Bumblebee."

She rolled her eyes instinctively at the nickname, but couldn't stop the smile that was coming on her face. "What if we skipped breakfast?" She asked suggestively. "We could just stay here and hang out."

He gave her a look. "You know we can't do that Kagome. You have activities to do. I have groups to lead. In fact, the only reason I'm here is because I put people under the impression that I was coming to get you for breakfast."

"Did you leave me?"

"_No._" he said, playfully dragging out the word. "I promise I wouldn't right?" He exhaled. "No, I just called in and told Kikyo to go on ahead to breakfast and that I'd grab you instead. Told her that I had woken up early and gotten breakfast already so I had time to kill."

Kagome smiled with relief. She vaguely recalled during her slumber hearing someone on the phone. "So you didn't leave."

"No, I didn't." He stood up. "But I do have to leave now, and so do you."

Kagome frowned. "Can't we just hang out for a little while longer?"

"Don't be difficult." He said, his tone firm. "You know we can't."

She sighed. Reality fucking sucked. She wanted to go back to that magical place where Inuyasha hadn't been a peer leader and she wasn't a camper being sentenced to the Outhouse. She wanted to go back to last night.

But it was already the next morning.

Inuyasha must have picked up on the disappointment settling on her face, because his tone had softened when he spoke again. "Come on Bumblebee, I know you're hungry. Your stomach wouldn't stop growling last night."

Kagome's face went red with embarrassment. "Is that supposed to be a joke?"

He only laughed. "Come on. Get up and get dressed."

Kagome looked around the room for clothes. When she found hers, they were crumpled up on the floor. She winced. "I can't put those back on. They're dirty."

"Hate to break it to you, but that's part of being sent to the Outhouse: you don't get the luxuries of the dorm building."

"You mean I can't even take a shower?"

"Well there _is _a shower." He said. "But usually, the idea is why take a shower if you have to put on the same dirty clothes? The only reason I took a shower is because I had a few items of clothing left over from the couple of nights I spent here."

She pouted. "You won't make me put those back on will you? After last night, you and I both know I should take a shower. To put those back on afterwards would just be–"

"Okay whiny." Inuyasha said jokingly. "You go take a shower, and I'll deal with the clothing issue, okay?"

Kagome smiled. "Okay."

He shook his head, but he was smiling too. "You're going to make both of us miss breakfast."

She watched as Inuyasha put on his sneakers. "You're going to leave?"

"How else do you expect to get the clothes?"

He had a point there. "Make sure you come back."

"Well I can't have you wandering around campus naked." He said with a wink.

Kagome waited for Inuyasha to leave before she climbed out of the bed. She went around to the back of the Outhouse, and found the pathetic excuse for a shower located there. It was a simple shower stall, and one of the handles was missing. Conveniently, this was the handle for the hot water. Kagome sighed: beggars couldn't be choosers. So she sucked it up and turned on the working handle at full blast. After a few initial curses towards the cold water, she managed to clean off the remnants of last night. She found only one towel in the bathroom, and used it to pat down her body. Her skin tingled at the thought that Inuyasha could have only used this towel as well.

When she stepped out of the bathroom, Inuyasha was already back. She was surprised: "Did you sprint or something?"

"We missed breakfast." He told her. "But I spoke to Mr. Myoga, and he's allowing you to miss your first morning class in order to eat."

"And what about your boys?"

"They're hiking with the thirteen/fourteen group, so they're covered for the next hour. At least, I hope Eri has it covered. She told me not to worry about it."

"So you'll stay with me for breakfast?"

"You're not the only one hungry you know." Then he gestured to the clothes laying on the bed: white spaghetti strap top, blue surfer shorts, yellow panties. The sight of underwear surprised her. "You were going through my drawers?"

An adorable redness covered Inuyasha's cheeks. "Well, how else did you expect me to get the clothes for you? I promise I didn't look at anything: just stuck my hand in and grabbed whatever."

Kagome smiled. "Relax Inuyasha, I'm just teasing you."

She took the clothes and changed in the bathroom, her shyness not completely gone. When she came out, Inuyasha was waiting patiently for her, leaning against the door. Kagome walked over to him, stopping just a couple of inches away from him. She reached to hold his hand, but he moved away. Kagome looked up at him in confusion. His expression was somber, and he placed his hands on her upper arms, holding her gently.

"You know what happens now don't you?" he said softly.

Kagome sighed: _more damn reality._

"We can't be like we are in here." He told her. "I have a job position to hold. And it certainly will not reflect well if any of this got out, on either of us. This has to be our secret."

"I know." She couldn't keep the disappointment out of her voice.

"You had to have expected this Kagome. Somewhere in your little plan to get with me, you had to have thought about the consequences."

Not quite, she hadn't really thought much passed the getting together part. Then again, none of this had gone quite likes he planned it. She hadn't expected to sleep with him – just a little intense touching and kissing. In fact, Inuyasha was the first person she had slept with since she turned fifteen. She had considered herself pretty much off that market - possibly indefinitely - before he came into her life. But she was yet to start regreting last night, and she doubt she ever would, so it was well worth it. All of that on top of the fact that she was seriously starting to like him.... her whole game plan had gone down the toilet weeks ago.

Inuyasha put his arms around her and held her close. "There's only three more weeks of this place. And then we can be together the way we want to."

His voice sounded so sincere, too sincere. "Do you mean that?"

He pulled her back far enough to look her dead in the eye. "I mean it." Then he cracked a smile. "Think you can be strong for me for the remaining three weeks?"

She nodded, smiling as well. She loved the sound of being together 'the way _we _want to' enough to try.

Inuyasha cupped her face gently and kissed her once, twice, three times on the lips, making her giggle by the last one. Then he opened the door to let her out first. Kagome took a deep breath: such a huge part of her wanted to either stay in the secret haven away from everything, or simply give Inuyasha up. But she knew she couldn't do either, especially the second one: she couldn't do that if she tried.

So she exhaled slowly and exited the Outhouse.

* * *

When she caught up with her friends after a quick and innocent breakfast with Inuyasha – no affection in public just to be safe – they were all over her about her experience in the Outhouse.

"Why'd you get sent there in the first place?" Ayame wanted to know.

Kagome rolled her eyes. "Mr. Myoga caught me sneaking out, and got all menstrual on me. I didn't have much of a choice."

"Why were you sneaking out? Bankotsu again?" Sango asked.

Kagome half-smiled. "Yeah. Bankotsu."

Sango and Ayame smiled knowingly to each other. "We figured." Ayame said. "Why don't you guys just make it official between you two? I mean, camp is almost over: only three more weeks, and they'll go by like that–" Ayame snapped her fingers. "You don't know where you two will be after this."

Kagome shrugged. "All the more reason _not _to make it official. Why have a boyfriend for only the following three weeks, and then that's it?"

"She has a point Ayame." Sango said. "The only reason Miroku and I made it official is because we realized we live only thirty minutes away from each other by car."

Kagome's eyes widened in surprise. "You and Miroku are going out?"

Sango blushed. "Yeah. Didn't I tell you?"

"No." Then again, Kagome had devoted the first couple of weeks trying to hook Inuyasha. And the task had been a little bit more than time consuming. She hadn't a real conversation with these two girls since maybe…week one. "I'm so happy for you." Kagome said, smiling genuinely.

"Ask her about what happened that same night he asked her out." Ayame said suggestively.

Kagome gasped. "Did the two of you…?" She let her voice trail off knowingly.

Sango's blush spoke volumes. "It was my first time."

"How was it?" Kagome found herself asking, as juvenile as the question was. She was pretty sure she knew what it was like already. Then again, her first time was probably nothing like Sango's.

"It hurt like hell at first." Sango said. "As in, I had to fight to keep from screaming. But then it got better." She blushed again at the end of the sentence.

"God, now I'm the only virgin between you too." Ayame whined.

Kagome playfully shoved her. "Didn't you _just _turn fifteen? Trust me, there's no rush."

Ayame gave her a look. "How old were _you _when you lost your virginity?"

Kagome knew she was caught there. "That's different." She said quietly, not really caring to share the details.

"I didn't ask if it was different, I asked how old were you?"

She sighed, painfully. "Thirteen."

"_Exactly_. That's what I thought."

"It's worth the wait Ayame." Kagome said. "If I had a time machine, I would have waited longer before it happened."

"Have you and Bankotsu…?" Sango's voice trailed off much like Kagome's had.

Kagome shook her head, the first truth she had made concerning Bankotsu. "Don't think that's going to go down either. I'm not really interested in having sex with anyone right now." _Not unless you happen to be a few inches over six feet and have gorgeous amber-colored eyes._

"Are you three just going to sit around and gossip, or are you actually going to do some of the exercises?"

It was Kikyo, looking more irritated than usual. The three girls shrugged indifferently and went to grab some weights. Kagome was just about to grab the ten pound weights when Kikyo grabbed her shoulder: "May I have a word with you?"

Kagome shrugged again. The two of them stepped outside of the weight room – they were in the middle of muscle training – but didn't go far. A triumphant smile crossed Kikyo's face: "I heard you were in the Outhouse last night."

"Yeah, so?"

"Well…what were you doing?"

Kagome narrowed her eyes. "None of your business."

"Sneaking out to meet Bankotsu maybe?"

"Why do you give a fuck?"

"Or maybe you were sneaking out to meet another boy maybe?"

Kagome tried not to react to her words. "I don't have to tell you shit. You aren't my mother. And even if you were, I _still _wouldn't tell you a goddamn thing."

Kikyo kept her smile up: "You went off to see Inuyasha didn't you?"

Kagome smirked. "Wouldn't that just irk your nerves?"

Her smile faltered at that point, but she maintained composure. "I'll have you know that I don't care what Inuyasha gets himself involved in. He should have realized that there could be a good thing between him and me. He and I very compatible."

Kagome scoffed. "I'm sure."

Kikyo sighed. "No, I'm more concerned now with maintaining the standards at this camp. You know, there are specific rules that state no relationships between campers and peer leaders. If I knew something was happening between you two, I'd have no choice but to report him."

Kagome again had to try hard not react to her words. Kikyo didn't really know anything. She was just trying to call Kagome's bluff; trying to get her crack. _Well I'm a helluva lot stronger than that bitch._ "I suppose you would."

Kikyo looked surprised at Kagome's response. Kagome fed off of her moment of weakness. "In fact, if there was something inappropriate going on, I'd have to tell you right away. I wouldn't want to have a guy like that leading a prestigious camp like this."

Kikyo faltered further. "Well, at least you know." She said rather lamely.

"Oh I do, anything else?"

Kikyo narrowed her eyes. "Listen you little slut, I have my eye on you. You _and _Inuyasha. I _know _something is going on between you two. Something that needs to be stopped. Inuyasha doesn't need a little cunt like yourself fucking up his life."

"You know what else I'd have to report?" Kagome said innocently, completely ignoring Kikyo's threat. "If a camp leader starting using profane language in front of campers. I don't think anyone could tolerate that in this camp either. I wonder if any peer leaders I know have used profanity in front of me." At this point, Kagome looked Kikyo dead in the eye.

She huffed and turned away, leaving Kagome behind. There was only fifteen minutes left of weight training, and it was obvious that Kikyo didn't care whether Kagome lived or died. So she took these last couple of minutes to head get an early lunch. She wasn't necessarily hungry, but she could at least check out what was on the menu or put a salad together for herself.

As she was walking towards the cafeteria, she spotted Inuyasha on the soccer field, playing a game with his group. It was a shirt vs. skins game, and – since God does answer prayers – Inuyasha was playing for the skins. She could tell he had been in the sun all day: his golden brown skin glistening with sweat in the sunlight. Kagome didn't know what position he was playing – she knew nothing about soccer – but she knew she was enjoying watching those long legs of him chase down the ball.

She ended up forgetting the cafeteria, walking towards the bleachers to get a better look at the game. What she observed once she was sitting was that the Skin team were kicking ass. Both Koga and Bankotsu were also on the Skins and were great…whatever position they were playing. Miroku was a Shirt, but clearly not enough to save his practically useless team. And then there was Inuyasha, running and dodging his defenders with such grace that Kagome thought he was floating. And when he scored the final goal – since the lunch hour had started – Kagome couldn't help but stand up and cheer.

Inuyasha turned around at the sound of her voice, and their eyes met. Kagome smiled shyly, waved in his direction. He shook his head as if to convey 'this girl', but he was smiling, which made her feel that it was okay.

He dismissed the group first to lunch, before heading towards her. Bankotsu had stopped to talk to her: more than likely about maybe hooking up after the late classes, but she could barely hear him, watching and waiting for Inuyasha to finish his dangerously slow saunter towards her.

When Bankotsu finally walked away, Kagome felt safe enough to run up to Inuyasha. Just as she was about to hug him, he raised his palms. _Not this again, _she thought worriedly, but he was still smiling: "I might be a little sweaty." He said warningly.

She smiled again. "I like sweaty."

They embraced, short but intense. "Why are you cutting class again?" he asked.

She decided not to tell him about her little conversation with Kikyo, not wanting to give him any reason for backpedalling when they finally seemed to be getting somewhere. "You know me," she said playfully. "Class is just not my style."

"Maybe lunch is your style?"

"I'm still a little full from breakfast." Kagome admitted.

"Well, after an hour of soccer, I could go for some food."

Kagome did a brief sweep of the area, then spontaneously placed a kiss on his lips. His smile grew some. "Well that was something tasty, but I was thinking of the digestible kind of food."

She gave him a light push. "Fine."

He touched the side of her face affectionately. "But maybe you'll save me some of that for later?"

Kagome felt warm all over. "I'll see what I can do." She said, still trying to maintain aloofness.

He leaned forward and their lips met for another time: this time for longer though still very innocent. "What will you do for the lunch hour if you're not going to eat?"

Kagome shrugged. "Maybe I'll take a walk."

Inuyasha's smile started conveying a new meaning: one on the suggestive side. "Maybe I'll skip lunch and take a walk with you."

Kagome rolled her eyes, pushed him lightly again. "What makes you think I want you to come with me on a walk?"

"Because you like me." He said simply.

She smiled against her will: yes she did. "_Fine._" She said. "You can come."

"Good. I'll be sure to factor in some of that as well."

The double meaning of his words was not lost on Kagome. "Inuyasha! Oh god!"

Inuyasha only chuckled, before taking her hand and leading her to the far side of the field.

* * *

Kagome was climbing in through her bedroom window when a light came on. Her heart stopped in shock, and her eyes immediately went to the particular lamp glowing with life. Kikyo was standing right next to it, eyes narrowed.

"And where were you?"

"Out." Kagome said, calming herself as she pulled her body into the room. None of the girls had woken up from the light, and Kagome wasn't interested in waking anyone up. "Could you turn that off? Sango is a really light sleeper."

Kikyo ignored her request. "You know it's after curfew." She said.

It was only twelve-thirty: Inuyasha made a point not to keep her out late so that they both could get their sleep. Tonight they had gone into town to a cute Mexican restaurant. And once they had cleaned their plates, Inuyasha asked her to dance. It was band night tonight and they were in the middle of a slow number. Kagome happy obliged to being held close and gliding across the room. The whole time they danced, she felt like she was on clouds.

"It's not that much after curfew." Kagome said with a shrug.

"You're not supposed to be out after curfew regardless. That's why its a _curfew_."

Kagome sighed. "So what do you want to do Kikyo, report me?"

"No. At least, not yet. I want you to tell me who you were with."

"I went for a walk." Kagome lied smoothly.

"By yourself?"

"I needed some air." She explained. "I wasn't feeling well all of a sudden."

"All of a sudden huh." Kikyo didn't sound convinced at that part. Her eyes narrowed again. "Watch yourself Kagome, because I'm watching you."

Kagome – for the hundredth time that week – ignored her scare tactic. "Okay Kikyo, thanks for the reminder. Goodnight."

Kikyo gave her one last lingering look, one that made Kagome's blood chill – if only slightly – for a moment. Kagome look back at her, unfazed on the outside, but inside her stomach had turned. Then Kikyo turned on her heel, storming out of the room. She didn't turn out the light, so Kagome had to get up and turn it off once she was gone. Then she climbed back into bed and closed her eyes, trying to shake off that eerie feeling that Kikyo's last look had given her.

* * *

**Another chapter completed. Hope you like. I'm in the middle of chapter six, so I can't promise it very soon. But I do promise it soon =)**

**Reviews are always much appreciated.**

**Until my next update**

**--Brin--**


	8. Week Six

**Warning: A sexual abuse scene. It's not anything graphic, it's just there. You've been warned.**

**Disclaimer: The aspects that were never mine in this story, are still not mine. I'm simply borrowing them to create something new.**

* * *

**Week Six – Parent's Weekend**

Kagome's jaw dropped at the horrid news. Pinned on their room bulletin board was a bright yellow flyer about Parent's Weekend. Parents were coming in this weekend to watch The Games, which were the various sports that had been practiced over the past five weeks being put to work. Most of the games were going to be single sex: dorm house on dorm house (example Bumblebees versus Butterflies). But there were to be a couple of coed sports games as well with the age groups facing off with each other – fifteen to sixteen girls versus the fifteen to sixteen boys etc. There was no real house prize or age group prize for winning the most during The Games – according to Mr. Myoga, everyone was a winner at Tek – which is why they always made this weekend for parents. Apparently kids play harder when their parents are watching.

Kagome paled at the thought of her parental units showing up for this weekend. Her mother would be in tears and overexcited about seeing her play, and Naraku would just be his usual greasy self. Just the thought of him made her wish she was wearing a pair of sweatpants, as if he could see her exposed legs from wherever he was now.

"Ugh." Ayame's voice appeared from behind her. "A parents' weekend. And just when I was really starting to enjoy this place and being so far away from my egg-headed 'rents. Now they're going to be here."

"You think yours will come?" Kagome asked.

"Without a doubt." Ayame sighed heavily. "At least they'll be able to see what a waste it was to send me here. A fucking sports camp. But hey, at least I met a cute boy out of everything. You know on our last hike with the Bears, Koga and I went off on our own. Did a little private hiking, and then some."

Ayame's face was adorably red, which made Kagome smile, temporarily taking her mind off the demise that was Parents' Weekend. She could recall herself that very hiking trip. She had sprinted ahead of the group, knowing the trail already. The only person who could keep up with her was Inuyasha. Once they both reached the end, they had a few charged moments together in lip-lock, before having to separate as others arrived. But the few moments were more than enough: Kagome felt like she was getting away with murder right under everyone's eyes. Their relationship was far more exciting since it was such a secret. They left no clues or hints, and no one appeared the wiser. Except for maybe Kikyo, who in actually, probably didn't know anything either, and was just trying to get a rise out of Kagome. All those factors brought only more raciness to their relationship.

Of course, there was going to come that glorious moment when they would no longer have to keep things secret. She could remember Inuyasha's words clearly: _There's only three more weeks of this place. And then we can be together the way we want to. _Now there was only two more weeks, and she was looking forward to their end so she could really be together with Inuyasha, regardless of the excitement that came with the secrecy.

"What's going to happen to you and Koga after camp?" Kagome asked.

Ayame shrugged. "No idea. I mean, we aren't serious like Sango and Miroku, or like you and Bankotsu _should be._" Kagome shifted her weight uncomfortably at the sound of Bankotsu's name: she hadn't even looked at the boy or talked to him, much less hook up with him, since things heated up between her and Inuyasha. "But I like him a lot."

"Do you guys live nearby or anything?"

Ayame shook her head again. "He lives here in Connecticut. I'm a Jersey girl."

Kagome saw that Ayame was starting to deflate as she thought about the future, so she brought her back into the now. "You guys still have two weeks left to work it out the kinks. So you might as well enjoy them to the fullest. And then everything will turn out the way it was meant to be."

"Yeah, you're right. And at least we're both tri-state area." Ayame said, smiling again. "So what about you and Bankotsu? Still not serious?"

Kagome nodded. "Still not serious."

"But you're still sneaking out after curfew to see him?"

Kagome shrugged, trying to remain neutral – but she sure as hell was going to have to learn how to climb in and out of the window without her girlfriends knowing. She wasn't sure how much longer this Bankotsu façade would hold up. "He and I are just really attracted to each other, and are just trying to have fun. That's all."

Ayame nodded understandingly. Just then, Kikyo came storming into the room. "Where's Sango?" she asked.

"In the shower." Ayame explained. It was lunch time but the three of them had finished eating early, so they came back to their room.

"Tell her when she comes out: no wearing your Bumblebee shirt. Not unless you're going to wash it in time for Parents' Weekend."

"Will do." Ayame said.

Kikyo turned to leave, but Kagome stopped her: "Kikyo, can I talk to you? In private?"

Kikyo looked surprised, which was expected, but Kagome had to be sure about this parents' weekend thing. The two of them stepped out into the hallway, closing the bedroom door behind them.

"What is it?" Kikyo asked curtly.

Kagome sighed. "How serious is this Parents' Weekend thing?"

"It's incredibly serious. It's one of the most important events at camp next to Special Award Weekend. Why?"

"Do you know if my parents are coming?" She almost choked over the words 'my parents'.

"They are." Kikyo said. "They called to confirm from last week. What's the problem?"

Kagome tried to keep her stomach under control as it started to tie itself into knots. "Nothing." She lied. "I just wanted to know what was the deal with my parents. Thanks Kikyo."

"Oh Kagome?"

"Yes."

"I'm still watching you." Kikyo narrowed her eyes dangerously. "Don't think I don't know what you're up to. Because I do."

Kagome didn't have the energy for Kikyo's threats: they only bothered her further. "Good to know Kikyo." She replied wearily. "I hope you don't mind if I leave now."

Kagome didn't wait for a response; she just went into her room and closed the door in Kikyo's face.

Ayame had a curious look on her face when Kagome returned, but Kagome was in no mood to explain what had just happened between her and Kikyo. She just went to her bed and laid flat on her stomach, feeling sick.

_A fucking Parents' Weekend, _Kagome thought in frustration.

Kagome heard Sango come out of the shower. In the following seconds, Sango said: "Oh Christ. Parents' Weekend? Really? I don't believe this shit."

_I don't fucking believe it either._

* * *

"You okay?"

Kagome had been staring out into space when Inuyasha's voice entered her thoughts. They were sitting at the top of the mountain trail – one of their favorite spots to be together. The Friday night sky was dotted with stars and the terrain was covered with moonlight, but Kagome couldn't appreciate the beauty. Her mind was focused on tomorrow: when the parents were coming. When _her parents _would be coming.

"Kagome?"

"Huh, what?"

Inuyasha looked at her with a concerned expression. "I asked if you were okay. I'm taking your lack of response as a no."

Kagome exhaled slowly. "I'm fine. Just a little worried about tomorrow."

"You mean about your parents coming?"

"Yeah." She said softly.

"Most campers can't wait for this weekend." Inuyasha said. "They want to show off all their hard work and whatnot." He turned to smile at her. "But I guess you're not like most campers, now are you?"

Kagome managed a weak smile. "No, I guess I'm not."

"You shouldn't be worried Kagome. On those rare accounts were you actually _go _to class, you train hard. I wouldn't be surprised if they gave you something on Awards Weekend."

"Do parents have to come for that as well?" Kagome inwardly shuddered at the thought.

"Some do, but not all. This is the main weekend for parents before pick up."

Kagome let out another long breath, trying to calm herself down. The last thing she needed was to get worked up over nothing. This whole weekend might turn out to be just that: nothing.

"You sure you okay Bumblebee?"

Kagome looked up at Inuyasha. His expression was kind and open, as if he was prepared to listen to whatever was on her mind. And she wanted to tell him: but couldn't find the words. She had never had the words to tell anyone.

So she gave another small smile before leaning up to kiss him softly on the lips. It was an innocent closed-lip kiss, but it served its purpose: instantly melting away what was left of Kagome's nerves. Inuyasha's hands touched her face affectionately, his thumbs stroking her cheeks. She sighed at his touch, and pulled away from him slightly.

"I'm really glad I met you Inuyasha." Kagome said in a whisper. "You're a good guy."

"And you're a good girl."

Kagome looked away. "No I'm not."

He turned her head back to face him. "Yes you are. I don't fall for the bad girl type."

"Come on Inuyasha. You've caught me trying to smoke once. And that night I crawled into your room that first time, you wouldn't stop calling me drunk. And then the fact that I pushed myself all over you and wouldn't back off until you–"

"Stop right there." Inuyasha said firmly. "Even the best of girls fall into bad habits like smoking or drinking. But I know that's not really you so much as it is you trying to fit in with the rest of your generation. I know you aren't the only teenager on this campus whose been smoking and drinking." Kagome had to admit, he had a point there. "And as for all the 'pushing' as you called it," Inuyasha continued. "You were just determined to get what you want. That doesn't make you bad. More importantly, if I hadn't been into you in the first place, nothing would have happened between us."

He pulled her into his arms, holding her close. "You're a great girl Kagome. You're charming and funny and just feisty enough. And you don't take no for an answer. Maybe that makes you a little stubborn, but it also means you strive for perseverance. And those are all qualities of a good – great – girl."

Kagome sighed with glee. "You're not just saying all that are you?"

"Of course not." Inuyasha squeezed her. "I'm saying it because it's true."

Kagome squeezed him back. "You're amazing Inuyasha. I don't deserve someone like me." She whispered

"I probably don't. Free spirit like you? You deserve to be enjoying life, being young and whatnot. Instead, I'm trying to find a way to keep you for myself."

Kagome leaned up out of his embrace and playfully hit him on the chest. "That's not what I meant."

"I know it's not." Inuyasha said. "But I'm making you smile. So that's all that really matters to me."

Kagome smiled even brighter. Her heart was swelling with so much emotion for the guy in front of her, that she thought she was going to burst. Inuyasha had already become such an important person in her life – certainly the most important man since her father passed. All she could think about was how bleak and painful her life had been before coming here. She hadn't felt this happy in a while.

_God, do I love this boy?_

Kagome was afraid to admit it out loud, but her body warmed all over at the thought of the words. She started blushing against her will, which made Inuyasha smile at her.

"What am I doing now?" he teased.

She rolled her eyes at him. "Why do you think everything is about you? Jeez."

Inuyasha only smiled at her, pulled her close enough to kiss her forehead. "Feeling better?"

She nodded truthfully. Tomorrow still loomed in the back of her mind, but right now, all that mattered was the present. And the present consisted of being with Inuyasha.

* * *

Kagome paled. A silver Mercedes was parking in front of her dorm building. She watched from her window as her mother got out of the passenger side. Then she paled further as Naraku got out of the driver's. She pulled her long dark hair up into a bun, then pulled a pair of drawstring shorts over her spandex. She had to wear her Bumblebee shirt but she pulled her black hoodie on over it. It was the first time she was regretting the cutting she did to the camp shirt.

She put on her sunglasses and went to meet the two of them outside. Her mother recognized her instantly – as soon as Kagome stepped into the sunlight, she started rushing towards her. "Kagome darling!" she cooed. "I missed you so much."

"I missed you too Mom." She said indifferently.

"How have you been? My gosh you're so _tanned. _I hope you've been wearing sun block."

"Everyday." She replied flatly.

"Kagome _darling_." Naraku said as he stepped over to the two of them. "How have you been?"

"Fine." She seethed.

His eyes left her face, landed elsewhere. "I like this shirt. Did you design it yourself?"

Kagome yanked her hoodie over her slightly exposed chest, frowning further. "I did, thank you very much."

Naraku chuckled, met her eyes again. "It was very well done."

"Oh Kagome, I can't wait to see you play." Her mother gushed. "Naraku and I have been anticipating this weekend for so long."

Kagome tried to smile with her mother, but she could feel Naraku's dark eyes on her. She couldn't stand there much longer. "Let me take you to the cafeteria." She said finally. "So we can get something to eat before the games start."

It was lunch time and the cafeteria was full. That gave Kagome a little more peace. The first half of The Games had already taken place: swimming and soccer. Basketball and lacrosse were supposed to round out the day. The rest of the sports would take place tomorrow afternoon. Her mother and Naraku got on the food line, while Kagome made a beeline towards Ayame. She was alone, so Kagome figured Sango was still off with her parents who had come early to see her swim.

"Are your parents not here yet?" Kagome asked when she was close enough.

"Nope." She said indifferently. "But they called me and said they were on their way." Ayame rolled her eyes. Then she asked: "What about your 'rents?"

"Yeah, they're here." Kagome said, her voice empty. "They're in the food line getting lunch."

Ayame peered over Kagome's shoulder, scanning the crowd. Suddenly she grinned. "Okay I'm guessing the woman that looks exactly like you, but older, is your mom. She's cute. But Dad is way cuter."

Kagome convulsed. "That's my _stepfather._"

Ayame shrugged. "Makes no difference: he's still hot."

Kagome couldn't partake in this conversation any further. "Where's Sango?"

"Probably with her parents." Just then Ayame's cell went off. She checked the screen, then groaned. "It's my parents. I'll see you around Kagome."

Ayame walked off as she answered the call, and Kagome could hear the excited wailing on the other end of the line. She looked back to her own parental units – they had found somewhere to sit and were eating. They didn't sit next to each other, but across. Kagome went over and sat next to her mother.

"Was that one of your friends Kagome?" she asked when Kagome sat down.

"Yeah, Ayame."

"She's pretty." Naraku said softly, appreciatively.

Kagome scoffed. "Don't go there."

"Don't worry Kagome, you're my number one girl."

She frowned, looked away from her stepfather. Thankfully, she spotted Inuyasha shaking hands with a couple of parents. It looked like the conversation was ending, and while she wouldn't wave him over, Kagome hoped he'd turn around and notice her looking.

He did, and he smiled at her as he approached.

"Mr. and Mrs. Higurashi I presume?" he said when he was near enough.

"Actually, it's Mr. and Mrs. Onigumo." Naraku said curtly. "I'm Kagome's stepfather."

"Oh, Kagome didn't tell me that she had a stepfather." Inuyasha said as he shook Naraku's hand. "I'm Inuyasha, one of the peer leaders here. Pleasure to meet you."

"I'm sure." Naraku replied tightly.

Their hands ripped apart. Then Inuyasha turned to Kagome's mother. "Pleasure to meet you as well." He re-extended his hand.

"The feeling is mutual." Azuna replied with a smile. "Are you Kagome's peer leader?"

"No, that would be Kikyo. But I'm assistant basketball coach, so I've seen her play."

Inuyasha glanced briefly at Kagome when he said this, which made Kagome blush and look away shyly.

"The Games will be starting in fifteen minutes, so we should get going Kagome." Inuyasha said. "We'll be starting back with basketball, so you both should come to the gym. Its right next to this building" He said to the parents. "You can get a chance to see Kagome play."

"I'll see you all in a bit." Kagome said, getting up from the table and walking with Inuyasha out of the cafeteria.

"Your parents seem harmless." Inuyasha said softly as they headed for the pool.

"Don't all parents seem harmless?" Kagome said.

"Good point. Why didn't you tell me about your stepfather?"

"I don't really like to talk about that."

"What happened to your real father?"

"He died when I was ten." She said softly.

Inuyasha stopped, his expression sympathetic. "I'm so sorry Kagome."

She smiled to make him feel better. "It's okay. I'm okay about it now. I just don't like to talk about it."

"How long has your mom been remarried."

"Since I was twelve."

"And you and he just don't get along?"

She hesitated again, longer this time. "You could call it that." She finally said, her voice barely above a whisper.

* * *

Kagome had gone back to her dorm after her basketball game to take a shower – she didn't have to take part in the lacrosse game so she was done for the day. She told her mother and Naraku that she would be right back, without telling them where she was going. She just had to make the shower quick and come back.

She pulled out an unflattering large tee shirt and a pair of sweatpants to change into afterwards. Then she began to strip down.

"At least you're making it easier."

Her blood froze. She was in the process of pulling her shirt over her head when she heard the low male voice. Fixing the shirt back in place she saw Naraku standing in the doorjamb, smiling at her sinisterly.

Kagome was still wearing her shirt, but no pants – already pooled at her feet. The shirt was just long enough to hide her underwear, but not long enough to hide anything else.

On instinct, Kagome ran. She sprinted for the window, but Naraku proved to be faster, grabbing her wrist and pulling her down on the nearest bed – her bed. He climbed over her, his hands on her shoulders, pressing her into the bed. "Now why are you being a stupid little girl?" Naraku asked her.

"Get the fuck off of me." She hissed.

"There's no reason for that kind of language _sweetheart_."

Kagome gave him a hard stare. "I'll scream."

"What's going on with you and that silver-haired boy?"

"None of your fucking business. _Get the fuck off of me._"

"Are you still giving up yourself to boys Kagome? You're giving up your body to even more boys?"

Kagome started to push at him, pounding on his shoulders and chest to get him off her. But it was to no avail. She started to scream. Naraku slapped her hard across the face, then placed his hand over her mouth. "What the fuck are you screaming for." He said in a dangerous voice. "Did I ask you to scream?"

She tried to scream again, but he just pressed his hand down harder, muffling the sound. His evil smile returned. "What did I tell you giving up your body to boys Kagome? I told you not to do that."

She kept trying to free herself, wriggling and squirming. She kept screaming. Tears of frustration came to her eyes with every passing second that she remained trapped. Naraku suddenly pressed his lower body down on hers, so close that she could feel his hardness throbbing against her bare thighs. She started to cry.

"You want to give up your body to boys Kagome?" he said in a throaty tone. "You want to be a little slut like that?"

Keeping one hand on her mouth he ripped at her already low-cut shirt. Kagome screamed as loudly as she could as soon as she felt her bra being exposed, wriggling and squirming in an effort to be free. Suddenly Naraku placed his free hand around her throat, clenched tightly. Her scream stopped as well as her movements: she couldn't breathe.

His smile grew. "That's a good girl. No more screaming. No more moving around. Just lay there like the good little slut you are."

He lifted his hand from her mouth, but kept the other around her throat. She could feel his free hand climbing up her thighs, fingers playing with her flesh through her underwear. Her tears came down heavier. She tried to scream again, but his hold around her neck became tighter.

"Stop it." He said angrily. "Stop screaming. You wanted to be a little slut, did you not? Well now you can be. You can be a good little slut right now."

Kagome kept fighting back. She started kicking and flailing her fists around. Naraku tried to hold down her wrists, but the release on her throat made her start screaming again. He started hitting her across the face, commanding her to shut up. He placed his whole body weight on her by laying on her, making it impossible for her to move. His hand covered her mouth again while his other hand – she could feel – was working at the button and zipper of his jeans. She beat on him mercilessly on the back, but it made no difference. She continued to scream. Muffled or not: she closed her eyes and screamed and screamed…

Then finally the weight of his body was gone. She heard a heavy thud on the floor, followed by heavy contact noises and groans of pain. Kagome opened her eyes enough to see Naraku lying on the floor, being kicked repeatedly in the side. She looked up at the assailant, and silver hair filled her vision.

"You fucking bastard." Inuyasha growled as he attacked. "You nasty motherfucker. You disgusting prick. Don't you fucking dare lay a finger on her again."

"Inuyasha." Kagome said breathlessly.

His head turned to face her at the sound of his name. His amber eyes were burning with intensity and anger. Kagome felt more exposed than she probably looked. It hurt to have him look at her like that. She couldn't bear to have him see her like this.

So she took off. Using her original escape plan, she climbed out of the window: ripped shirt, no pants and all. Nothing was stopping her, not even the incessant call of her name. If she kept running, maybe she would finally escape it all.

* * *

**Reviews mean a lot to me, so leave a good one =)**

**--Brin--**


	9. Week Six: Minichapter

**Minichap: Continues where the last chapter left off. Enjoy!**

* * *

**Aftermath**

Kagome didn't stop running for anything. She could still hear someone calling at her. Why couldn't she outrun them? Why wouldn't they go away? She was getting tired, but she refused to stop. She had to escape.

Then suddenly, a strong hand grabbed her shoulder. She started throwing blind punches in the direction of her attacker, yelling repeatedly: "Get away from me!"

"Kagome! Stop!"

The familiar voice calmed her, and she realized she was attacking Inuyasha, who was still holding her shoulder but ducking for cover at the same time. She pulled herself away from his grasp, grabbed the ripped folds of her shirt and tried to cover herself.

Inuyasha straightened up after a moment. His gaze reflected his anger, his eyes blazing with fury. He practically yelled at her: "Did you hear me calling you?"

Kagome couldn't answer, backed away from him out of embarrassment. He yelled again: "What the fuck just happened Kagome?"

"What do you think just happened?" she whispered.

"Is that the fuck why you were so worried about your parents coming?"

She nodded, fresh tears coming to life in her eyes.

"What the fuck Kagome? Why didn't you fucking tell me? I could have organized it so that he wouldn't be here. Why didn't you fucking talk to me?"

"I-I didn't know." She stammered out. "I didn't know it was going to happen."

"So you allowed for the fucking _option_ to be available? Are you out of your fucking mind?"

"Stop yelling at me." She said

"Stop yelling? Kagome, _fuck man!_ How can you ask me to stop yelling? I'm _pissed the fuck off_ Kagome. I'm walking over to the gym to lock up and I hear goddamn screams. _Your goddamn screams. _And I come into the dorm to see your stepfather lying on top of you, hand around your throat while you're barely clothed?"

Kagome shuddered violently at the words. "Please…"

She could hear Inuyasha angry breaths, but he wasn't screaming anymore. Kagome stepped further back from him, until she felt her back pressed into a tree. She slid down the trunk, pulled her knees into her chest, and started to cry, face buried in her legs.

"Why didn't you talk to me?" Inuyasha's voice was softer, and closer. Kagome was too afraid to look up and see where he was relative to her. "Why couldn't you tell me about this?"

"I didn't want to scare you away." She said in between sobs. "You thought I was a good girl. I just wanted to be your good girl."

"You would have still been my good girl Kagome. Bad things can happen to good girl."

"My stepfather raped me!" she screamed out in a tearful voice. "I'm not a good girl: I'm a _raped_ girl. He raped me Inuyasha. Are you happy now?"

"Of course I'm not happy." He said sternly, the anger coming back. "Why the fuck do you think I'd be happy about that? I care about you Kagome. The last thing I'm going to be happy about is something that causes you pain."

Kagome sniffled, her body shaking with inner sobs. "He raped me." She repeated in a softer tone. She had never said the actual words: they sounded so real when she said them aloud. "He raped me, and he would have done it again if you hadn't come to save me."

"None of this would have happened if you had just spoken to me."

"I didn't know what to say. How to say it." Kagome sniffed again. "I was scared."

"You had _me _scared Kagome." Inuyasha's tone had become somber again, heartfelt. "To hear those sounds coming from your window. To come in and see… I was more than scared: I was fucking terrified."

Kagome lifted her head slowly. Inuyasha's eyes met hers instantly. His expression had softened completely, looking only worried right now. "Are you okay?" he asked her softly.

She shook her head. "No. I'm not."

He reached out to touch her face, but she shrunk away from his hand. "Don't." She pleaded.

Inuyasha's expression fell into one of sorrow but understanding. "Is that why you told me to stop when we were having sex? When I had touched your shoulders?"

Kagome nodded. "He always used to do that. He would just press me into the bed and hold me down. I couldn't escape. And no one could hear me scream."

Her own words scared her, and she held her knees even tighter. The story started pouring out without her even realizing: "I was thirteen. Naraku had only been living in the house for a year. I had a boyfriend – an older boyfriend. He was sixteen. One night, it was just he and I at my house. We were kissing, and he was touching me _there._ It was obvious where things were going, but I didn't want to sleep with him. He kept telling me it would be okay. I _told_ him I didn't want to. _I said no. _But he didn't listen to me."

Tears started falling again. "Naraku walked in on it all. We had been on the living room floor. Naraku cursed and chased the boy out of the house. I ran away to my room, scared, bleeding slightly and in tremendous pain. I was crying. Naraku came up to my room soon after, but not to comfort me. He called me a little slut. He told me only little sluts did what I was doing. I told him I didn't want to, that I wasn't a slut. But it didn't make a difference. He locked my bedroom door, got undressed, put a rubber on his cock. I had nowhere to run. Then he climbed on top of me, forcing me down, and he fucked me."

Inuyasha listened wordlessly, his face a mix of expressions: anger, upset, sad, pained. "He didn't stop no matter how much I screamed." Kagome continued, her tone lifeless. "He just pressed me into the mattress and…fucked me. And when he came, he just got up and left. My body curled up with excruciating pain. I cried for the rest of the night." An empty laugh escaped her. "I was violated twice that night. I never saw that boy again. And Naraku…I saw him too much."

"And your mother…?" Inuyasha finally managed to ask.

Another empty laugh. "She didn't believe me. I told her what happened, and instead, she told me that I behave inappropriately with my boyfriend. She told me that Naraku said he saw us. I tried to explain what he had done to me, that he had attacked me as well. But it didn't work. She called me crazy, said that I was just trying to cover for the boyfriend. She let Naraku get away with fucking murder, allowed him to violate my body. I know she knew where he went when he got up from their bed in the middle of the night. I know she could hear me crying, hear him grunting as he fucked me. But she said nothing."

"So why didn't you say something?"

Kagome shivered. "I was scared. If my own mother didn't believe me, who would? I was a young girl who had lost her virginity only moments before her stepfather assaulted her. It was so easy to pin the whole thing on the first boy, and then to say that I was having sex with other boys. My own _mother _didn't believe me."

There was a long silence between them. Kagome exhaled. "I've never told anyone any of this besides you. Naraku threatened to hurt me. And I thought about how he hurts me already, and how I couldn't handle anymore hurt. So I didn't tell a soul. I let him have his away with me. I was empty."

"But when I turned fifteen, I said enough was enough. I told him no. He tried to assault me, and I took a bat to his head. He passed out cold. And by the time he woke up, I was still holding that bat. I told him never to touch me again. Never to come near me again. Never to look at me again. He listened more or less. There were times when he still came at me, but I always fought him off. I learned to scream. I learned to kick. I learned to punch. I fought back." Kagome paused. "It had been a while since he tried anything. I hadn't expected him to attack me while I was here. I knew there was the possibility, but I couldn't be sure. I was never sure with him. Just always on my guard."

Inuyasha sighed long and hard. "You have to report this. You just told me about two years worth of rape."

A tear rolled down her cheek at the word 'rape'. She wiped it away slowly. "It's over now."

"It's clearly not over Kagome. I just saw him try to attack you again."

"I'm moving out of there. I've spoken to my grandfather, and he offered to take me in."

"That doesn't make it better."

"Inuyasha, just understand me for a second. I don't want to report it, and then have it splashed all over, and become this big commotion, and then everyone looks at me as the poor raped girl. No one thinks of me that way now, and I don't want anyone to think that way about me ever. I just want it to go away. When I move, it will go away."

Another long silence passed between them. Kagome was starting to feel cold. Inuyasha was sitting in front of her, knees bent and legs parted. She moved away from the tree trunk and eased herself between his legs, laying against his warm chest. Gingerly, Inuyasha put his arms around her. Kagome flinched at his touch, but then relaxed. This wasn't Naraku. This wasn't some boy. This was Inuyasha.

"You were my first since then." Kagome whispered finally. "I hooked up with boys, but I never let them get any farther than I wanted them to. I made sure I stayed in control. Something about you made me trust you, made me want to give up control. I felt a fire when you kissed me, but a tenderness in your touch. I wanted to be as close to you as possible. I wanted to be with you."

"Kagome–"

"I hope my being tainted this way doesn't change your opinion of me. I hope I can still be your good girl."

She heard Inuyasha sigh heavily, and her heart dropped at the sound. But before the negative thoughts could take form in her head, his gave her a soft, reassuring squeeze. "You're my _great_ girl Kagome."

Kagome smiled to herself, all her stresses and nerves and tensions melting away. "That's all I want Inuyasha."

* * *

By the time Kagome made it back to her dorm, composed and wearing Inuyasha's camp shirt, her mother was standing in front of the building, waiting. The headlights were on and the engine was running – Kagome see Naraku's face, but she could guess he was in the vehicle, hiding.

"Kagome dear." Her mother said as she approached. "We were waiting on you. Naraku has taken ill, so we're heading back home tonight. I hope you don't mind that we won't be able to come back tomorrow."

Kagome gave a weak smile. "I'll be fine Mom."

"At least we saw you play basketball, right? You were so good today."

"Thanks Mom."

Her mother smiled brightly then reached to put her arms around her. Kagome stiffened at her touch, but her mother seemed not to notice. "Oh Kagome honey, I miss you so much while you're gone. I can't wait till you're back home."

Kagome stepped out of her mother's hold, shook her head. "I'm not coming home Mom."

Her mother looked confused. "What do you mean?"

"I mean I'm not coming back to that house." Kagome took a deep breath. "Mr. Onigumo isn't sick Mom – _he tried to rape me._ And he only wants to go home because he got caught in the act and probably wants to avoid charges. And you're only listening to him, because somewhere between Dad's death and meeting this slime creature, you lost your sense of self."

"Kagome!" Her mother's voice was horrified. "What kind of accusations–?"

"It's not an accusation: it's the truth and you know it. You know that Mr. Onigumo has sexually abused me more than once. You just turned a blind eye to it: for whatever reason I don't care to know. All I know now is that I refused to be touched by him again. After camp, I'm going to live with Grandpa. I've already talked with him and he said it was fine. And when I go to live with him, I don't ever want to see the two of you again."

"Kagome–"

"I've already made up my mind Mom. Nothing you can say will change it."

"You're not feeling well either dear." Her mother said. "Maybe you're a little tired from today. We'll talk more when you come home. Right now I need to get Naraku home to rest."

Kagome sighed, her mother may not have understood right now, but she would understand eventually. Kagome was not going back to that place. She was not going to allow herself to be used like that anymore.

Her mother reached to hug her goodbye, and Kagome managed to hug her in return. Her mother may be a fool: but she was still her mother. And a small part of Kagome was going to miss her once she left for her grandfather's. But Kagome had to do what was best for her: even if it meant giving up her mother.

She watched them pull of and drive away. Kagome caught Naraku's profile: he was doubled over, face hidden. Which was better, because she didn't want to see his face ever again. Once the car was out of sight, she turned around to go inside her dorm building. Inuyasha was waiting by the door.

"Is everything going to be okay?" he asked her. "Are _you _going to be okay?"

Kagome nodded. "Just gotta take it a day at a time."

Inuyasha pulled her close, giving her an affectionate squeeze. Kagome allowed herself to be held, enjoying the feeling of knowing that someone cared for her.

* * *

**Sorry if it took long to get these last two chapters out:: it's getting pretty hectic over here, what with me going through the college process and stuff. So I can't promise the quick updates I had in the beginning. But we are nearing the end of this story, and I promise I won't leave it unfinished.**

**Reviews are always welcome, as is constructive criticism. Just leave me a little something: I'll appreciate you for it.**

**Until my next update**

**--Brin--**


	10. Week Seven

**Finally this chapter is done: I hope you all enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: Inuyasha, its characters, and any other element of other works - all are not mine. I merely borrowed them to create this story.**

* * *

**Week Seven**

Somehow the whole thing had gone off without a hitch. Parents' weekend continued and ended without anyone knowing. Her parents didn't show up the following day, and Inuyasha kept his promise not to say anything. No one knew.

Kagome threw away her camp shirt – knowing she'd never be able to put it on without remembering. She told Inuyasha she was going to get rid of it, and he said that he would make it that no one would ask about it. And no one did. Everyone was too focused on this weekend to care about a shirt anyway.

This weekend was Special Awards weekend. Even though 'everyone was a winner at Tek', there were still some who should be recognized among others. This was the week when Mr. Myoga started walking around campus more and checked out not only the campers, but the peer leaders as well. This – outside of Parents' Weekend – was the only time when everyone worked hard to impress. That is, if you cared that much to want a certificate of good merit, or whatever it was they gave out. Kagome didn't care at all: she didn't play any harder, or any less than usual. She just wanted camp to end.

She stopped sneaking out to meet Inuyasha, feeling that this week would be the worst to try that. No doubt Kikyo wanted to win "Best Female Peer Leader" which means her already watching eyes would be hawking for any kind of mishaps. Inuyasha understood that point without Kagome having to go into detail about the threats Kikyo had been making. In Kagome's opinion, they weren't much of a big deal – just Kikyo's usual 'I'm watching you' thing. But with awards at stake, it was possible for minor to become very major.

Instead, she and Inuyasha took walks together. Kagome liked that so much better. They walked into town once the free time was available, and checked out the small shops and stores. Inuyasha held her hand everywhere they went and made no shame about it. He opened doors, pulled back chairs when they went out to eat, paid for everything payable. It made Kagome feel special: like a lady. None of the boys she had ever been involved with acted so gentlemanly: they just got what they needed, got off and went their own way. And back in the day, that was enough for Kagome. But now she felt like she was worthy of being treated special. Inuyasha made her feel that she had that worth.

The 'L' word danced on her tongue so much and so often when she was around him, but she was afraid to say it. They were enjoying each others' company, and it was obvious that they liked each other. But Kagome couldn't tell if he loved her. Hell, she couldn't tell if she loved him! She had never been in love before, except for loving her family. At the same time, the feelings she got when she was around Inuyasha – the butterflies in her stomach, her face warming when he looked at her, the racing heartbeat – were nothing like she had ever experienced before with anyone. It seemed only fitting to call it…love.

But that didn't mean Inuyasha loved her back.

Kagome didn't think she was strong enough to handle the idea that Inuyasha might not feel the same way about her. As far as she was concerned, she was better off keeping the feelings she had developed to herself. She wasn't even certain about them herself, so why press upon him those uncertainties?

She had to rationalize and re-rationalize the situation, because deep down, she wanted to tell him. She wanted to say that she loved him, or that she had strong feeling for him that she pegged as love, or that if she wasn't in love with him yet, she was certainly falling into it all. But more importantly, she wanted to tell him, so that he would tell her that he loved her back. That's what she really wanted to hear: that Inuyasha loved her as well.

But no matter how much she wanted to tell him, she repressed the feelings, not wanting to rock the boat. They had already had their share of complications, not to mention the encounter with Naraku not too long ago. Now was not a good time to drop even more bombs, especially the 'L' one.

She had to watch herself though: the words wanted to come out so badly that if she wasn't careful, they would slip….

* * *

Kagome and Inuyasha were lying out on the playing field, watching the stars. Kagome was right against Inuyasha's side, her head resting on his shoulders while he whispered constellation names in her ear. Everyone was at the dance in the gymnasium, trying to let loose and have fun before Special Awards tomorrow. Kagome spent a couple minutes trying to convince her friends that she wasn't in the mood to dance, she waited for everyone to head down to the gym before meeting Inuyasha out in the field. They were on the far end, nearer to the forest and away from the camp civilization. Kagome smiled to herself, enjoying the exclusivity.

"What are you thinking about?" Inuyasha asked her softly.

Kagome passed over the first thing on her mind, and went for the second. "I'm just glad that we can be together like this." She replied. "I forgot how nice it is to lay this close to you."

She and Inuyasha hadn't been this close since he found her stepfather in the same kind of proximity. Kagome knew that Inuyasha had done it out of respect for her, and it was fine – their relationship wasn't based on the physical anyway. At least, it wasn't for her.

But now, lying this close to him, hearing his soft and steady breathing, Kagome felt old but familiar feelings stirring to life within her.

"I know what you mean." He replied softly.

Kagome sat up slowly, gazed into the pools of golden honey set in Inuyasha's eyes. "You have beautiful eyes." She heard herself say in a sigh.

Inuyasha pretended to blush. "I use them to capture the hearts of beautiful girls like yourself."

Kagome blushed for real, but the night hid it for her. "So you just walk around capturing hearts? God, I wish you had told me that before I got involved with such a player."

Inuyasha chuckled. "Now you know you're the only one I want. Why would you say something as silly as that?"

"You started it."

Inuyasha smiled at her, and all her attitude – even though it was only playful – melted away. "You're the only one I want Kagome." He said with certainty. "You mean more than a lot to me. You should know that."

Kagome tried to keep from sighing aloud. She nudged him playfully. "It sounds like you _love _me."

Silence. Kagome had said in hopes of gauging the necessary information from him without having to actually say it first. She had read enough books and magazines where girls used the same tactic. But somehow, silence isn't what she was expecting. Inuyasha was just lying there, no longer looking at her, eyes closed.

_Fuck. FuckFuckFuckFuckFuck. _Her heart squeezed painful with every quiet passing second.

"I was just joking." She said quickly, trying to cover.

His eyes opened slowly, met hers, bored into her. "No you weren't." he said softly.

Kagome's eyelids fluttered downward, feeling caught. Inuyasha sat up now. His hand touched her cheek, caressed her skin softly, then traveled down to her chin, lifting her head up slightly. Kagome met his gaze head on. At first, his expression was flat, serious. But suddenly he started smiling.

"Hey," he said softly. "I love you."

The words sounded too good to be true. "Yeah, I'm sure." She said sarcastically.

"Fine, if you don't believe me." His hand dropped from her face.

Suddenly, she was missing his touch. She grabbed the hand and placed it back on her cheek, holding it there. "Wait a second, are you serious?"

He gave her a long look. "You know Kagome, I never expected to meet someone like you here. I thought I would just come here, make some money over the summer, meet a couple of new friends, and that's it. Then, there you are, standing next to me at the vending machine, wearing this incredible smile. And yes, I noticed your tits that day too."

Kagome blushed. "I figured."

"But it was more than that. I was surprised by your wit, impressed with your bravery, and loved your snarky little attitude. Maybe I could have done without the stubbornness–"

"You acted more stubborn than I did!"

Inuyasha laughed. "Yeah, I guess I did. Anyway, I found myself liking everything about you. And then the more time we spent together, I realized that I _really _liked everything about you. And then…when your stepfather came…"

Kagome hoped he wouldn't finish, not wanting to go down that path again. He didn't: "…anyway, that happened, and I realized that I had the strongest desire to protect you. Here's a great girl, mixed up in some bad things, met some bad people in her life, and yet walks around with a smile and pretends everything is okay. Her personality is so strong, and she's so confident despite everything she's been through. It only made me admire you more. It only made me want to make sure that nothing else happens to you, so you can continue to be this bright, bubbly, feisty and friendly girl that you are."

Kagome sighed without knowing it was coming. The words were so touching to hear, that Kagome thought she would cry. Inuyasha smiled at her: "I suppose when you pile all those elements together, you come up with love. So yes Kagome, I love you."

Another sigh of happiness. "I love you too Inuyasha." She whispered. "You're the only person since my father that's made me feel this special."

"Yeesh, I say all these great things about you and you're comparing me to _Dad_. Next thing I know, you'll be saying that you love me _like a brother._"

She hit him on the shoulder. "You know I don't mean it that way!"

He took her hands in his, laced their fingers, looked at her earnestly. "How do you mean it then?"

She blushed from all the intensity, but figured this was her moment. "I mean that, the way you make me feel is something I've never felt since my dad died. Now I'm a party girl, or the hook-up chick, or all these other things that – I admit – I brought upon myself. But my dad was the only one, when he was still alive, that made me feel that I could be worth more than that. That I could be a teacher, or a lawyer, or whatever I wanted to be. When he died, so did those ideas. And then you come along, and tell me that I'm so great, and that I'm better than what I portray myself to be. And then you tell me all those nice things you just said, and I feel like my heart is going to explode in my chest…."

Kagome stopped for a second, took a breath. "You're so much older than me." She whispered. "You've probably been in love once before. You know what you're talking about more than I do. I've never been in love. But at the same time, the way I feel about you can only been love. I mean, it feels like I can't be without you. I don't ever want to be without you. You make me feel so…_whole._" Kagome paused, then groaned at herself. "I sound so cheesy."

Inuyasha smiled at her, pressed his lips to her forehead. "You sound incredibly cute."

"You get what I'm trying to say though right?" Kagome looked up at him hopefully.

He pretended to act confused. "Huh? You said something? You might have to start over."

She laughed, playfully started hitting him. "You think you're funny, but you _aren't funny!_"

"Oh, how you love to abuse me!" he said, acting as if he were in pain.

Kagome stopped hitting him, smiling. In the next instant, they were kissing. She wasn't sure who initiated it, but it didn't matter. The feeling of his lips against hers felt so right that it didn't matter how they got here: it just mattered that they were.

Their clothes melted away without complication, and soon Kagome found herself beneath Inuyasha, legs wrapped around his waist and fingers deep in the contours of his back. He was moving slowly, cautiously, in and out of her. Their eyes never closed once, and they never looked away from each other either. Inuyasha was waiting for her to let him know when to stop. Kagome was reminding him that she would never want that to happen: she trusted him with her body, like she trusted him with her heart.

They didn't speak, but there were no need for words. The joining of their bodies was enough. This slow but sure pace he kept as he pumped into her was enough. The smiles forming on their faces were enough. This happiness was more than enough.

Their love was more than enough.

* * *

The Special Awards were off to a great start. A couple of parents showed up to support their kids: thankfully Kagome's own were absent. She had ended up winning something to her own surprise – Best Fifteen/Sixteen Female Basketball Player. It wasn't just a certificate as she had guessed, but a miniature trophy of a girl about to shoot a ball, her name engraved on the stand. A small hint of pride came with winning – even though she hadn't tried to win and wouldn't have carried either way if she hadn't, there was something to say to the fact that she _had. _Sango won Best Fifteen/Sixteen Female Swimmer, to no one's surprise – Kagome was rooting for her friend to win Best Overall Sportswoman, as was everyone else in the room. Ayame hadn't won anything yet, but she didn't seem upset by the outcome, sitting comfortably next to Koga – who won Best Fifteen/Sixteen Male Runner – holding his hand, and a pleasant smile on her face.

When the award show was finally coming to a close, they began announcing the top awards. Sango won Best Overall Sportswoman, as Kagome had hoped, and both she and Ayame gave her a thundering applause, as did the entire room. Koga won Best Overall Sportsman, which resulted in a passionate embrace between Ayame and Koga before he got up on stage to claim his prize. Kagome saw Bankotsu muttering to himself in misery at Koga's win. Kikyo, much to Kagome's disdain, won Best Female Peer Leader. She sauntered up on stage as if she was a queen, and even had the nerve to start tearing up as Mr. Myoga handed her the award.

"And our final award for the night is Best Male Peer Leader."

Kagome was on the edge of her seat. She could see Inuyasha standing on the other side of the gymnasium, looking neutral. But Kagome knew how badly he wanted this award: she wanted it badly for him as well.

Mr. Myoga gave a lingering suspenseful pause, before finally saying. "Inuyasha Takashi."

Another burst of applause filled the room. All the boys in his group began their masculine 'Bear' chant as Inuyasha headed towards the stage. Kagome clapped her heart out, whistling and cheering as loud as she could. In her excitement, she missed Kikyo walking over to the podium and taking hold of the mike. In fact, no one noticed her until she started talking.

"Oh Mr. Myoga, I hate to be the bearer of bad news on such a wonderful day, but I'm afraid I can't allow Inuyasha to accept that award."

The gym fell silent, and all eyes were on Kikyo. She smiled brightly at the attention and continued speaking. "You see, Mr. Myoga, I think that Best Male Peer Leader should go to someone who exhibits great responsibility, good conduct and incredible leadership at all times. Someone that his campers should look up to."

"We do look up to him Kinky-Ho!" A deep male voice yelled from the crowd, eliciting a burst of rousing male laughter.

Kikyo seemed unfazed, her smile unchanged. "Yes well, I don't believe that Mr. Takashi could possibly be awarded such a high honor considering his behavior during the past couple of weeks. I, who won the female counterpart to his award, should know best."

"Ms. Hidekashi, what are you getting at?" Mr. Myoga whispered harshly, frustration setting in on his face.

Kikyo's smile grew sinister. A moment before she said the words, Kagome's heart dropped into her stomach. _Oh no._ "Mr. Myoga, I don't think that a peer leader whose been _having sex_ with one of the campers should be awarded for this."

A gasp went out through the gym. Mr. Myoga aggressively pulled Kikyo away from the podium, but his voice was still being picked up by the mike. "How dare you insinuate such things Ms. Hidekashi? I expect better from you."

"Just like I'm sure you expected better from Mr. Takashi." Kikyo said loudly, making sure she was being picked up by the mike as well. She glared at Inuyasha. "But he's been having a very intimate relationship with one of the female campers here: _Miss Kagome Higurashi_."

_Fuck. _Kagome didn't know whether to charge the stage and beat the shit out of Kikyo, or run away and hide. She ended up frozen in place, while the entire crowd switched their gazes between her and the stage.

"You have no idea what you're talking about." Inuyasha said harshly.

"Oh I don't Inuyasha?" Kikyo said with false innocence. "I don't know all about you and Kagome sneaking out together after her curfew? I don't know all about you and her having sex in her very dormitory?"

"What the f–"

"Don't be mad because you _got caught, Inuyasha._" Kikyo hissed.

"That's enough from both of you." Mr. Myoga said angrily. "Ms. Hidekashi, I cannot believe your behavior right now. Your accusations on this stage are tasteless."

Kikyo looked horrified. "They are not accusations Mr. Myoga. It's the truth! I have proof!"

"Regardless, I am extremely embarrassed by all of this. You and Mr. Takashi will meet me in my office right now." Then Mr. Myoga walked up to the mike. "Ms. Higurashi will come to my office immediately. The rest of you, off to your rooms. Early curfew, no buts about it. Parents in the room, I apologize about all of this. Please say your goodbyes to your children and leave for the night. I apologize again for this."

Campers were slow to leave the building, all gaping incredulously at Kagome. Parents were whispering in horror to each other, trying their best to shuffle their kids out of the room quickly. Kagome was stone still in her muted shock, still unable to believe what just took place.

"You hooked up with Inuyasha?" Ayame asked in a hushed whisper, pulling Kagome from her state. "Why didn't you tell me?"

_Fuck._ Kagome stood up, leaving Ayame's question unanswered. "I have to go."

* * *

Inside Mr. Myoga's office, Kagome found one open seat – next to Inuyasha. She took it, but made a point not to look at him, not wanting to give Kikyo any extra evidence to the 'proof' she claimed to have. Kikyo was sitting on her left, looking smug.

"Wipe that expression off your face Ms. Hidekashi." Mr. Myoga said sternly. "This is not a joking matter."

"Of course it's not." Kikyo said. "These two have broken more than just a couple of camp rules, they've broken the law."

"That's _enough_ Ms. Hidekashi!" Mr. Myoga said, raising his voice.

Kikyo fell silent, her face paling. Mr. Myoga took a deep breath, then spoke: "I have no idea what the hell is going on, but someone better tell me. Since Ms. Hidekashi decided to explain in a rather vulgar way, I will allow either of you two to explain first."

Kagome didn't know what to say, the pressure of the situation making it hard for her to think. Inuyasha ended up speaking first. "There's nothing going on between Ms. Higurashi and I." He said firmly. "I have never disrespected the Code of Conduct at this camp, and I have never had any intentions to."

"Bullshit." Kikyo hissed.

"Ms. Hidekashi!"

"Mr. Myoga, with all due respect sir, _of course_ he's going to plead innocent. These are some serious offenses brought upon him."

"There is a possibility, Mr. Myoga – though I wouldn't expect it from someone of Ms. Hidekashi's stature – that she is making up this story due to the fact that I rejected her own advances." Inuyasha said coolly. "Then again, hell hath no fury like a woman scorned."

"The reason you didn't want me is because you wanted this little twit instead." Kikyo said angrily.

"So you admit to your advances?" Mr. Myoga asked Kikyo.

Kagome laughed inwardly: _stupid bitch._ "That's irrelevant." Kikyo said quickly. "The situation at hand is their sexual relationship."

"I have no sexual relationship with Ms. Higurashi." Inuyasha repeated.

Mr. Myoga turned his eyes on Kagome. "You haven't said anything yet Ms. Higurashi."

Kagome took a deep breath, and made a point to sound as convincing as Inuyasha did. From years of practicing the art of the lie, she knew that an ounce of truth was all that would make the difference. "Mr. Myoga, I'll admit that I did have somewhat of a crush on Inuyasha. But nothing ever grew from it. He made a point of telling me earlier on that nothing could happen between us. I respected his decision and his position in this camp."

"They're both lying!" Kikyo bellowed. "I have had conversations with one of the campers here, Bankotsu. He and Kagome had an illegal intimate relationship in the beginning of the camp. But then he said that she suddenly broke it off with him. But she kept telling all her friends that she was going off to see him, _and she wasn't!_"

"How does that prove I was going off to see Inuyasha?" Kagome asked incredulously, wondering if that was truly Kikyo's proof. If it were, maybe this would be over sooner than later.

"I have _also_ spoken to Kagome's stepfather, and he told me that he walked in on the two of them being incredibly intimate with each other during Parents' Weekend. And in her dorm room no less!"

"That's a fucking lie!" Kagome screeched, horrified.

"Oh is it Kagome? So the fact that your stepfather saw Inuyasha lying on top of you, pressing you into the mattress–"

"You have no fucking idea what the fuck you're talking about! _Just shut the fuck up!_"

"Ms. Higurashi, language." Mr. Myoga said warningly. "Do you care to explain what happened in your opinion, in a calmer tone?"

Suddenly Kagome clammed up: the last thing she wanted to do was talk about that day. She felt a hand touch hers gently. Without having to look, she knew it was Inuyasha. "What happened that day isn't something Kagome and I would like to discuss here in present company." He said quietly. "But what her stepfather is insinuating is incorrect."

"I'm sure it is." Kikyo said, folding her arms.

"You don't know a fucking thing Kikyo!" Kagome yelled, tears of frustration brimming at her eyes. "You don't know a goddamn thing."

"I know that the two of you have been fucking all over campus!"

"Shut the fuck up you jealous bitch!"

"Why don't you make me you fucking slut!"

"Ladies! That's enough!" Mr. Myoga growled angrily. "I think I've heard enough. And by enough, I mean absolutely nothing. Ms. Hidekashi, you have yet to truly prove your accusations to be correct–"

"Mr. Myoga!"

"–however," He said interrupting her exclamation. "What you have choosen to insinuate has already made its impact. Parents were in that room, and I'm sure more will be contacting me soon enough. Although it pains me to have to do this," he turned to Inuyasha. "I'm going to have to dismiss you for the remainder of the camp."

"What?" Both he and Kagome exclaimed at the same time.

"I'm truly sorry Mr. Takashi. I wish this could be solved another way."

"But she's a liar." Kagome exclaimed.

"Ms. Hidekashi will be dismissed as well." Mr. Myoga said in a hard tone. "I can't have anyone who carries themselves in the manner she behaved on stage today leading my campers."

"Mr. Myoga!"

"Be quiet Ms. Hidekashi." Mr. Myoga said. "Leave my office and pack your things." Kikyo huffed and puffed in rebuttal, but Mr. Myoga remained firm. Finally, Kikyo left the room in frustration. Then, he turned to Inuyasha. "I'm sorry about this Mr. Takashi, but I need to ask you to leave as well."

Inuyasha nodded solemnly. "I understand sir."

Inuyasha got up from the chair he was sitting in and turned to leave, letting go off Kagome's hand. Kagome got up out of the chair and rushed after him, not waiting to be dismissed by Mr. Myoga. Once they were outside, safe in the darkness of the night, Kagome grabbed Inuyasha's shoulders, turning him to face her.

"You can't leave me." She said.

"What do you want me to do?" Inuyasha said quietly. He sounded angry, but she knew it wasn't at her. "Mr. Myoga has a point: after Kikyo's accusation, there's no way that I can stay here any longer. Parents will talk, they will threaten to pull their kids out of the camp, ask for their money back. If I remain here, the whole place will erput into chaos."

"It's just a week left."

"It doesn't matter." Inuyasha said. "What we need to do is count our blessings: at least Mr. Myoga believed us instead of Kikyo. Things could have been worse that way."

Kagome knew he was right, but she still didn't want him to leave. "Convince Mr. Myoga to make you stay." Kagome pleaded.

Inuyasha shook his head. "You know that that's not going to happen that way."

Kagome tried to stop the tears from coming. "But Inuyasha–"

"Kagome, listen." Inuyasha placed his hands on her cheeks, lifting her face to look her in the eyes. "It's only a week left, and then everything will be okay. Remember you said you'd be strong for me. You have to stay strong for me, even while I'm not here."

Kagome nodded slowly. "Okay, you're right."

Inuyasha pressed his lips to her forehead. "I love you Kagome."

"I love you too." She whispered.

Inuyasha kissed her again, this time on her lips. It was a soft, gentle kiss, and felt entirely too short. Then Kagome felt Inuyasha release her, and she watched him motionlessly as he walked away.

* * *

**Leave a review, I'd appreciate it. Thanks.**

**Still working on the next (and possibly final chapter) so be good and patient and you'll have it in no time.**

**--Brin--**


	11. Final Week

**Finally, the final chapter. Took me a while to decide what direction I was going to go with this, but I finally got it!! So yay!! I hope you all enjoy.**

**Discliamer: The things in my story that were not mine are still not mine. They just helped me come alone with this story.**

* * *

**Final Week**

Kagome felt like camp was dragging. Inuyasha had been gone since Saturday night. Today was only Monday morning. She still had the whole week to go. Even though it was only one week, she could tell this already going to be the longest.

Both the Bumblebees and the Bears no longer had peer leaders, so Mr. Myoga granted the week to them to do as they wish – so long as they stayed within the boundaries of the camp rules and didn't interfere with other campers' activities. While mostly everyone was embracing this new and rare freedom, Kagome found herself less than thrilled. All the free time just reminded her about how lonely she felt without Inuyasha around.

Of course, no one gave a minute by herself: since she returned to her room on Saturday night, she had been bombarded with "Did you and Inuyasha really?" questions. Kikyo had long packed up and left the camp in an angry whirl by then. She had managed to leave Kagome a very ugly letter about being a bitch, cunt, whore, and all those other derogatory female names, while simultaneously throwing in some stuff about Inuyasha coming to his senses soon enough and dropping Kagome like deadweight. Kagome crushed the letter up and practiced outside-J shot. She didn't give into the many demands of the females in her dorm. Somehow, she felt that confirming the knowledge with anyone would only make matters worse. And she could still hear Inuyasha having told her a long time about girls and secrets. She still had to prove to him that she could keep her mouth shut, even under pressure. She told them nothing happened, and that Kikyo was just a crazy old bird.

Everyone seemed to buy the story, except for Sango and Ayame. Kagome expected them to be skeptical, because they probably were starting to see the faults in Kagome's stories for the past few weeks. But she would tell them the same thing: nothing happened. Friendship or no.

"If you weren't sneaking out to see Bankotsu all those times then, who were you sneaking out to see?" Sango asked after Kagome's denial.

Kagome was about to speak, when Ayame cut her off: "We spoke to Bankotsu." She said. "We wanted him to help clear yours and Inuyasha's name, and tell Mr. Myoga that you had been sneaking out to see him and not Inuyasha. He said you guys haven't even spoken since maybe the third week here."

Kagome's mouth closed instantly. She knew that Bankotsu story was going to fail her at one point, she just wish she had foreseen all of this sooner, so she would have a good back up excuse. "Okay, I wasn't sneaking out to see Bankotsu."

"Well we know that." Sango said in an obvious tone.

"So it was Inuyasha?" Ayame asked curiously.

"No." Kagome said quickly. "I already said it wasn't him."

"So who was it?" Ayame questioned further.

Kagome knew she was caught. Her only option at that point didn't feel like the best one, but she had no way else to turn. And she didn't want to tell them. Maybe she'd tell Sango at a later point, but not Ayame, who was still too young to understand the gravity of the situation, and would probably end up spreading the story around campus like wildfire. The truth was even though these girls had become close friends of hers, the situation was still too delicate to share.

So Kagome got as mad as she could muster, pulling her face into a serious frown, and raised her voice when she spoke again: "Do I have to tell you two everything? _No, I don't._ God, my affairs with the guys here isn't some damn camp gossip for you both to indulge in."

Both Sango and Ayame looked surprised at Kagome's outburst, which made Kagome feel like it had been more than convincing. But then Ayame's expression became a crestfallen one: "Sorry Kagome," she whispered in a barely audible tone. "We didn't mean to make you feel like…_camp gossip._"

Sango looked as down as Ayame did. Now Kagome felt bad. It wasn't really their fault that everything had blown up in such an ugly way. She was just trying to protect whatever little was left of her and Inuyasha's reputation. "I didn't mean to yell." She said apologetically. "I'm just under a lot of stress right now with this whole thing."

"We know." Sango said. "That's why we're here. We're your friends. We're just trying to help." Sango turned away from her and sighed heavily. "Then again, when was the last time you told us anything real. You have told us about Bankotsu, but now we find out that that was all some well-crafted lie." She added under her breath. "Maybe you just don't consider us as friends."

"I never said that!" Kagome said quickly.

"You don't have to say it." Ayame said softly. "Friends should be able to tell each other everything. And it's been apparent that you can't tell us anything."

"It's not like that, it's just–"

"Camp gossip." Sango echoed empty.

"No." Kagome said in a soft and broken tone.

Sango only sighed again, before climbing into her bed. Ayame turned away from Kagome in a similar fashion and got into her bed as well.

"Goodnight Kagome." They whispered in unison.

And then they turned out the light.

* * *

The next day, and the days following, neither Ayame nor Sango said another to Kagome. Whenever the three of them were around other people, they acted as if nothing had changed between them. But as soon as they were alone, it was really Kagome that was alone. Back in their dorm room, the silence was overbearing – Ayame and Sango didn't even talk to each other. It was just quiet.

Kagome tried to make conversation any time the three of them were alone, but they just looked at her, disappointment evident. It came to the point that Kagome stopped harassing them, realizing that there was no use.

Kagome stopped going to lunch to sit with everyone. Instead, she grabbed lunch either a lot later than the crowd, or much earlier. Instead of hanging out with everyone in her group when they went into town, she stayed on campus and wandered around. Kagome found herself revisiting the places she had been with Inuyasha. She first found herself heading towards her favorite trail, remembering when she and Inuyasha had run it for the first time.

_It had been a while since she had seen him this close, and she had forgotten how good he looked. He was wearing a red marina that clung to him attractively, and a pair of baggy grey sweats with white sneakers on his feet. His shoulders were so broad, and his arms were made purely of defined muscle. Even the brownness of his skin was a turn-on._

"_Hey." He said quietly._

_She narrowed her eyes, pretended to be upset. "Hey yourself." Her voice was curt. "Excuse me."_

"_Where are you going?"_

_She had already walked passed him when his question reached her, but she turned around to answer him. "To find Bankotsu."_

_He frowned profusely. "What do you want with that guy?"_

"_Wouldn't you like to know?" She snapped back._

_His frown deepened for a moment, then subsided completely. An easy smile came to take it's place. "Well, I was hoping that you'd go for a run with me."_

_Kagome's eyes widened. This had caught her by surprise. She kept her guard up. "Yeah right. You just expected to find me right at this spot and ask me to go for a walk with you?"_

"_A run." He corrected. "And I was on my way to your dorm to ask your peer leader for permission."_

_Kagome was still wary; unbelieving. "Why do you want to go for a run all of a sudden?"_

_He shrugged. "We're not allowed to go into the forest by ourselves. Gotta run with at least one other person. Most of my guys that were around weren't interested; I wasn't going to ask the younger campers – can't keep up you know; Kikyo wouldn't run with me."_

"_Kikyo would do anything you asked her to." Inuyasha laughed at that. "So I'm just your resort, is that it?" Kagome asked._

"_Don't think of it that way Bumblebee. Just come run with me."_

_She frowned. "Stop calling me that. Damn."_

_He only laughed again. "Are you going to come with me or not?"_

_Kagome gave him a long look, trying to see if he was joking around. He looked pretty serious; eyes unwavering. She was dressed for a run: wearing her camp shirt and a pair of mid-thigh black spandex shorts, running sneakers on her feet._

_Finally she smiled. "Fine, I'll come with you. But no funny stuff."_

"_That goes double for you." He said, before taking off in a dash towards the trees._

Kagome made her way up to the trail, laughing at the memory. That was back when she and Inuyasha were still in their awkward stage: when she went after him, and he acted as if there was nothing between them. But there was – there is something serious between them.

Kagome reached the top of the trail, standing on the top of the ledge, and looked out at the scenery.

_Inuyasha came up next to her not long after. "Took you long enough." Kagome joked. "I've been here for eons."_

"_I'm sure." Inuyasha said with a grin. He leaned against the rock next to her, folding his arms._

_She glanced up at him just as he looked down at her. The electricity in his eyes made her blush and look away. But when she looked back up, he was still watching her. "Why are you looking at me like that?"_

_He smiled. "Because you look good." He said simply. "Your skin is getting very golden brown from all the sun."_

_She nudged him playfully. "You don't look so bad yourself." She paused, looked up at him with a serious expression. "Then again, you always looked good to me."_

_He didn't say anything to that, which prompted Kagome to say: "I guess that feeling isn't reciprocated."_

"_What do you mean?"_

"_You look good to me, but I don't look good to you."_

"_I just said you looked good."_

"_I said you always looked good to me."_

_He looked at her for a long time, and Kagome watched as his eyes went up and down her body. She smiled to herself at the picture he had to be getting: curves of her breasts peeking out of the top, soft hourglass figure, exposed legs. He smiled at a moment. "You look good Bumblebee."_

Kagome leaned against the rock, and sighed heavily. She missed Inuyasha so much, now more than ever. Sango and Ayame wouldn't talk to her. Bankotsu was a memory of the past. Everyone else just didn't seem to be enough. She ran down the trail and headed towards the Bear cabin next. All the boys were out enjoying the day, so there was no issue to getting inside the dorm. She walked into the building – it looked exactly like hers, blue in color with brown bears painted on the walls. She didn't take in the decoration much longer though, walking towards the door labeled "Peer Leader". It was open – to her surprise, but delight – and she stepped inside.

Seeing the room again made her heart squeeze. Kagome went towards the bed, lying on it and burying her nose in the pillow. There was a faint scent of Inuyasha remaining on the pillowcase.

_He pulled his hand away from hers. "I have to take you back to your room."_

"_Answer my question."_

_He looked at her, his amber eyes intense. "Why do you sell yourself so short? You're such an amazing girl: free-spirited, in love with life. But here you are offering yourself up to a man four years older than you whose rejected you more than once. A man who doesn't even love you."_

_She shrugged. "Maybe it's because I'm free-spirited and so I'm in love with life that causes me to act this way. I just want to go with my intuition, do what my mind and body tells me to do, go to what my mind and body pulls me to. And right now, I'm being pulled to you. And the only reason I'm still being pulled to you is because there's something on your end that keeps a hold of me." She paused. "It's the way you look at me Inuyasha. There's so much emotion in your eyes. It feels more than you just being attracted to me. You like me. I can tell that you like me."_

_He looked down for a moment, then met her gaze again. "I do like you Kagome. I like your feistiness, your quick wit. I like the way you're always smiling when you're with your friends. I like the way you look at me."_

_Kagome felt a weight being lifted off her shoulders. Finally, a confession – more confirmation that she wasn't going crazy._

_But Inuyasha was going to start backpedalling, she could tell. "But I can't like you." He said finally. "And I certainly can't be attracted to you. You're too young for me, and the situation we're in right now just makes everything worse. It makes no sense to like you."_

"_Then don't like me." Kagome said. "I don't care about that part Inuyasha. The only part I care about is that every time I see you, I feel this urge to be close to you. I just want you to be close to me Inuyasha. I want you to touch me like you want me. I want you to want me just as much as I want you."_

_Inuyasha looked torn, so Kagome gave him some incentive. She placed her hand on his cheek, turning his head to face her. He didn't move away from her touch. She leaned towards him, her eyes lowered to his mouth._

"_Kagome."_

_Inuyasha's voice came out haggard, broke through her trance, when she was only millimeters away from his lips. She titled her head slightly, pressed her lips against the corner of his mouth. His skin was warm. She moved her lips down to his jawline, up to his cheek, on his earlobe. Suddenly she felt Inuyasha's hand grip her wrist, moving her hand away from his face. She came back to his eye level. His eyes were burning with intensity, but she didn't look away._

"_Kagome." He said slowly, voice thickened._

"_Yes Inuyasha?" her voice had changed too: low and seductive._

_He didn't say anything at first, just looked at her. Suddenly, the gap between them was closing. Inuyasha was leaning towards her. The closer he got, the more her body yearned for him. He stopped once his forehead touched hers, their lips only seconds away from connecting._

"_Kagome." He said again._

"_Yes?"_

_He spoke in a low whisper, his tone laced with desire. "I want you."_

_And in the next instant, their lips touched. Not softly, but with a passion: mouths opened automatically and tongues brushing for the first time with a fever. Kagome heard a moan leave her throat, and get caught in their kiss. Inuyasha pulled her closer to him at the sound, his hands grabbing her shoulders._

_She ripped herself away from him. "Say it again." She demanded in a voice full of lust. "Tell me you want me."_

"_I want you." He growled in a tone that matched hers._

Kagome held the pillow closer to her face, taking deeper breaths, until the smell was gone. She closed her eyes tightly, wanting to linger on it. It was the only thing she had that kept her close to Inuyasha right now. But she knew she didn't have much longer here – she was in the boys' dorm, and not quite allowed in there. So she left out the window, still mentally reminiscing, before heading back to her dorm.

She had come up with a brilliant idea. She refused to spend another night in uncomfortable silence with her "friends". So she packed up all her things in her duffel bag, completely moving out of the room. And once she had everything down to her toiletries, she left the Bumblebee dorm and headed for the forest.

She was going to the Outhouse.

"_Are you happy now?" Inuyasha asked her. "Are you getting everything you want?"_

_She glared at him. "Don't you have somewhere to be?" her voice was laced with attitude._

_He glared back. "You are so fucking frustrating."_

_She had turned away from him, but snapped back around at his words. "I'm frustrating? One minute you're all over me and the next you're acting like I don't exist. You are the one, good sir, acting like you're on your fucking period."_

"_You don't understand–"_

"_And you can shut the fuck up with that 'I don't understand' shit. If I hear you say that again Inuyasha, I swear to God, I'll slap the shit out of you."_

_He raised his eyebrows in surprise, then narrowed them in a challenge. "You. Don't. Under. Stand."_

_Kagome exhaled heavily with frustration. She stared him down, anger building, until she stomped over to him and raised her hand, fully prepared to smack him across his face._

_But mid slap, he grabbed her wrist forcefully, bringing her action to a halt. She frowned, trying to pull her hand back, but he only gripped it tighter. In one strong pull from Inuyasha, Kagome found herself tumbling forward into him. His arm went around her waist to steady her, simultaneously bringing her closer to him._

_At first, there was just silence. Kagome was sure she had stopped breathing. Inuyasha's face was so close, she could count his eyelashes, see the different shades of honey and gold that made up those incredible eyes. And suddenly, he was kissing her. Softly, he pressed his lips to hers, the lovely eyes closing at the contact. Kagome was too surprised to close hers._

"_Inuyasha." She whispered when he pulled back. She looked up at him. "Why…do you keep doing this?" _

_He lowered his gaze, then lifted it back up to meet her eyes, the gold hue of his gaze smoldering her. "Because I lied." His voice was soft, but firm. "You are worth it."_

The Outhouse was the one place that she and Inuyasha had had to themselves, the place where she had – for the first time – given her body to someone who deserved it: her first sexual experience that was worth remembering. It was the only place on campus that she could feel at home now, the only place where she could feel close to Inuyasha.

"_I won't leave."_

"_Stay the whole night." She murmured in his chest._

"_I promise I will." He said. He pulled her back enough so she could see the seriousness in his eyes. "I'll stay the whole night."_

_Kagome smiled at his sincerity. He kissed her forehead and smiled back before getting out of the bed to turn off the light. She got under the covers and made herself comfortable, sleep coming on fast._

_She heard the other side of the bed creak under weight, then felt Inuyasha under the sheets as well. "You better not leave while I'm sleeping." She said warningly._

"_I said I wouldn't."_

"_You promised you wouldn't."_

_A soft chuckle, then: "You're right. I did promise."_

"_Exactly."_

"_Go to sleep Kagome. I'll be here when you wake up."_

_She had to be certain, so she shifted closer to him so that she could rest her head on his shoulder. Now you can't go anywhere without me knowing, she thought triumphantly. Inuyasha chuckled again, as if he had heard her thoughts, but welcomed her touch, putting his arm around her again._

"_Goodnight Bumblebee."_

Kagome climbed into the bed, full of so many memories, and went under the sheet. Even though it didn't smell of them – or anything of the sort – it was enough to make her smile. She closed her eyes, falling asleep in the comfort of her memories. The week was still taking too long to end, but she would get by, so long as she had this place to remind her of what was to come.

* * *

The last day of camp was a sad one for everyone else except Kagome, who packed her things, happily ready to get going. Even though her mother and Naraku were coming to get her, it was still enough to be out of this place. And besides, leaving camp was the start of her new life – away from her parents, a new home with her grandfather.

And Inuyasha.

Kagome smiled to herself, thinking about Inuyasha letter. It had come only the day before. It wasn't very lengthy, but it had made its point and was enough to make her smile for the rest of her life.

_Kagome:_

_I hope this reaches you in good spirits, and I hope camp hasn't been too painful for you in my absence. I've missed you more and more with each passing day, and I can't wait to see you again. I wish that your plans after camp go through well, what with you wanting to live with your grandfather, and it would be my greatest pleasure to be a part of your new life._

_I love you._

_Inuyasha_

Kagome still had the letter in the pocket of her hoodie as she walked from the Outhouse towards the front of Bumblebee dormitories. Sango and Ayame were waiting out front as well, as were many of the Bumblebee girls. The two of them glanced in her direction as she appeared. Kagome put on her sunglasses and positioned herself amongst the crowd, not meeting their gaze. Maybe they wondered where she had been for the last couple of days of camp, but maybe they hadn't. Kagome had already disconnected herself from them and everyone else. People were hugging and saying goodbye, but Kagome just stood and waited patiently for her car to pull up. As far as she was concerned, these people and this place was now part of her past.

A sleek black BMW convertible pulled up. The top was already down, and Kagome recognized the mane of silver hair gleaming in the sunlight. Even though there were people around, Kagome couldn't resist rushing towards the vehicle as Inuyasha got out. He lifted her off the ground when she was close enough, holding her close to him.

"What are you doing here?" Kagome asked surprised as he put her down.

"I'm here to pick you up obviously." Inuyasha said with a smile.

"Why? How?"

Inuyasha shrugged, "Well if you don't want me to pick you up, then I could just leave you here."

"Don't say that." Kagome said, playfully hitting him on the shoulder. "I just want to know what's going on."

Inuyasha's smile grew. "I looked at your camp files and called your mom. I told her that I would come get you and take you there."

"But I'm not–"

"I know." He said. "I'm _actually _taking you wherever _you_ want to go."

Kagome smiled brightly. "You have no idea how happy I am to see you here." She stepped closer to him, taking his hands in hers. "Camp has been such a drag without you."

"But you were strong right?"

Her smile grew. "Yeah I was. Do I get some form of reward for that?"

Inuyasha smiled at her. To her surprise, he leaned down and pressed his lips on hers. There were loud gasps and murmurs from behind them, but Kagome could barely hear the noises: too caught up in the feeling of their lips touching. Even though it had only been a week, it still felt like it had been forever since she felt his touch. She caught herself sighing aloud as he backed up.

"I missed you." He whispered.

"I missed you." She replied.

"You ready to get going?" he asked her.

"More than anything."

He walked over to her duffel bag and picked it up. Everyone was staring at him in awe, but no one said anything. Sango and Ayame were staring at her, but Kagome was watching Inuyasha. He seemed unfazed by the people staring at him: simply putting her bag in the backseat before climbing into the driver's side. Kagome found that she was unfazed by the stares as well. It didn't matter what these people thought of her, or him, or their relationship anymore. Camp was over, and finally, they were free to be and do whatever they their hearts desired.

"Are you coming?" he asked as he put on his sunglasses.

Kagome took another glance at all the people, who were still staring back at them in shock. Her eyes landed on Sango and Ayame. Ayame was still in shock, but it seemed that Sango's expression was changing into one of understanding. Sango gave her a small nod, which brought on a wave of appreciation. Maybe they had had a rough couple of last days due to their silence, and the fact that Kagome kept secrets from both of them. But the understanding in Sango's face made Kagome feel that maybe all hope wasn't lost between them. Kagome managed to smile at her, feeling somewhat lighter, as she got into the passenger seat.

"Hey Kagome!" Sango yelled. Kagome lifted her sunglasses in response. Sango smiled warmly. "Good luck. Call me sometime."

Kagome felt even lighter now. "Yeah, you too. We'll speak."

Inuyasha backed up the car, and pulled out of the campus. Kagome told him what the past week had been like - the loneliness, the fall out between her and Sango and Ayame, the final days spent in the Outhouse. Inuyasha listened understanding.

"Seems like you and Sango will be okay though." Inuyasha said thoughtfully.

"I hope so." Kagome said quietly. "I like Sango."

Inuyasha smiled at her. "I think you and Sango will be just fine."

Kagome smiled at his optimism.

"So where are we heading?" he asked her once they were on the highway.

Kagome glanced over at Inuyasha, at his beautiful physique and the blowing of his long silver hair. She smiled at him: "Take me to your place."

He laughed. "What?"

"I mean, I could go to my grandfather's place at any time. But right now, I just want to be with you. I've missed you so much this past week."

He glanced over at her. "I've missed you too." He took her hand in his, kissed the top of it, before resting it in his lap. "I've missed you very much."

They drove together in silence, but Kagome was comfortable in it. Things finally felt right in her life, or at least, it felt as if they were righting themselves. She was going to move into her grandfather's soon enough, away from her stepfather crisis. And she had the affection of the great guy sitting on her left.

For the first time in a long time, Kagome felt like things were going to be okay.

"Thanks Inuyasha."

"For what?" he asked her.

She took a deep breath. "For telling me that I'm worth something. For giving me a chance to prove that I was worth something. For helping me to believe that I _am _worth something. I couldn't feel the way I do right now without you."

He smiled, kissed her hand again. "It's my pleasure."

"I love you." she said.

"And I love you too Bumblebee."

Kagome laughed to herself. _Yes, things are going to be just fine._

* * *

It's so funny, how when this all started, Kagome was so sure that this camp was going to be the bane of her summer. Now, Kagome couldn't have been happier that she had went. Without it, she wouldn't have learned she was better that the home life she was living. She wouldn't have known that she was worth more than the standards she had set for herself. But most importantly, she wouldn't had met the love of her life: Inuyasha.

Now it was time to start living the way she wanted to.

* * *

**I hope you all have enjoyed this fic. Thank you to all my reviewers, and readers. This story would have been garbage without you. Thanks again, and don't forget to leave me a final review!**

**Peace out all!**

**--Brin--**


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